Ethos of Science

Analyzed is the problem of principles of scientific ethos in educational environment of university. At present, as a result of the activation of youth (student, master's and postgraduate) science — our scientific future — it is important to instill in people entering science the principles of the scientific ethos, which make it possible to build productive relationships within the scientific community, as well as between the scientific community and society. Of course, the topic “Science and Ethics” is relevant for mature scientists as well. The article is a brief outline of the ethics of science as one of the areas of applied ethics. The 4 norms of the scientific ethos of CUDOS proposed by R. Merton are considered: Communalism: the belief about the common heritage of scientific knowledge; Universalism: assessment of the truth of the provisions should be independent of titles, gender, age, race of scientists; Disinterestedness: the primary stimulus of a scientist’s activity is a disinterested search for truth; Organized Skepticism: Organized skepticism, the duty of the scientist is to objectively assess the soundness of what his colleagues have done and the reliability of his results. Using the golden rule of morality, additional norms have been formulated: not to commit plagiarism; do not falsify data; not to interfere with the publication of the works of opponents; 8) not hush up arguments that contradict their concept; prevent undeserved co-authorship; in the references, cite only works related to the essence of the problem; fairly evaluate the contribution of employees to the overall work; it is inadmissible to present a compilation instead of a scientific work; not to publish papers on a problem in which you do not have sufficiently complete information; give an adequate assessment of the work of colleagues; do not sell their authorship; be humble and respect opponents; and be intolerant of violation of the norms of the scientific ethos by others. In the context of the development of applied science and its commercialization, a tendency arose to abandon the Merton norms. The norms of the PLACE system by J. Ziman are described (property rights, patents; solving local problems; setting the research goal by authoritarian authorities; work to order; work of a limited circle of experts). When abandoning Merton’s norms, the peculiarities of fundamental and applied science are not taken into account. The article shows that Merton norms and additional norms apply to classical science and modern fundamental science. Ziman highlighted norms, as well as additional norms refer to applied science. Additional norms apply to both fundamental and applied science, and these are general norms of modern science. It is suggested that on the basis of the convergence of fundamental and applied research, a single ethos of science can be formed.

Toward More Transparency in Statistical Practice

We explore the promise of statistical reform by starting from the assumption that most researchers would endorse Merton's ethos of science as reflected in the four norms of communalism, universalism, disinterestedness, and organized skepticism. Translated to data analysis, these norms imply a need for transparency, a fair acknowledgement of uncertainty, and openness to alternative interpretations. We discuss seven statistical procedures, both old and new, that we believe can positively impact statistical practice in the social and behavioral sciences.

Dr. Excellent: The Systemic and Personal Conditions for Being an Academic Star in Communication Studies

Pursuing excellence is a legitimate ambition of many scholars worldwide. However, between wishful thinking and real facts lies a great leap that can only be bridged using a myriad of resources. We label these the excellence repertoire. Based on 25 interviews with successful communication scholars, we show the key role of accumulating social, economic, and institutional capital in shaping the excellence repertoire. The study argues that the fetishization of productivity might jeopardize the traditional ethos of science, in a context where research excellence may be disconnected from the quality of education.

Body As an Object of Experimentation and the Emergence of Biomedicine Ethos

The purpose of the article is to study the influence of Nazi experiments on the formation of ideas about the ethos of science in the field of biomedicine. It is shown that the idea of discrediting a value-neutral science was often confronted with the resistance of the scientists themselves, who, in different contexts of condemning Nazi crimes, appealed to the fact that they acted for the good of science, and even of all mankind. The article discusses the strategy of American lawyers adopted at the Nuremberg Trials aimed at demonstrating the perversity of Nazi crimes in the field of biomedicine both ethically and scientifically. In addition, an analysis of individual materials of the Nuremberg process was carried out, which made it possible to give an idea of the scientific and linguistic design of the human body (name correction strategy) as a “correct” scientific object with desired properties. The article considers the influence of the data obtained on Nazi crimes on the formation of the content of the Nuremberg Code and the design of the principle of informed consent in biomedicine. Ethical aspects related to the further use of Nazi scientific data are also considered. In conclusion, the problem of the formation of scientific knowledge in non-violence mode is articulated.

Science live — articulating the aims and ethos of science event practitioners in the U.S.A. and U.K.

Live science events engage publics with science in a social context. This article articulates the aims and ethos of this growing sector within a research context. Semi-structured interviews (N=13) and focus groups (N=77) were conducted with event practitioners (both professional and volunteers) in the U.S.A. and U.K.. Inductive thematic analysis indicated that event producers aim to raise awareness of and professionalism in the sector. In particular, they seek to develop research into long-term impacts of events for both audiences and practitioners.