Social Science Space

How can we ensure that, when power shifts again, the U.S. government remains fundamentally grounded in empirical reality and committed to pursuing policies that are informed by the best available science?

(Over)consumption, climate change and working from home. These are a few of the concerns at the forefront of consumers’ minds […]

Ethical research involves much more than a pre-study review or forms to explain how the study adheres to the institution’s […]

While journalism might at times be seen as a sort of ‘ethnography lite,’ when it comes to checking out the field reporter’s facts it’s much more of a heavy hitter.

Fifty years after Ruth Bader Ginsberg worked to secure constitutional equality for women, misogyny is still alive and well in […]

Academic freedom is only one wing by which the academy flies, says Jimi Adesina. The other is the duty of scholars to act ethically and responsibly.

Moral rebels clearly have particular characteristics that enable them to stand up for what’s right. But what about the rest of us? Are we doomed to be the silent bystanders who meekly stand by and don’t dare call out bad behavior?

Statistics are not the final objective answer to things. They can be interpreted in lots of different ways, even when none of those ways is wrong per se. That opens up a space for public debate, which is good news, but it also opens up a space where statistics can either be lauded as the truth (when they are not), or dismissed out of hand as ‘biased’.

For the first time, a Canadian university — the University of Guelph — is reconciling with its history of teaching eugenics. Few universities in Canada have looked closely at their historical involvement in oppressive research, teaching and practice. Fewer still have made their archives accessible.

Geographer Frank Donnelly notes that census geography and maps are not automatically reliable – they can be used to intentionally skew research findings.

If you missed the broadcast of the new BBC/FX version of A Christmas Carol, it is well worth tracking down on a streaming service. While the production is occasionally bonkers, it brilliantly captures Charles Dickens’s passionate anger about social injustice in Victorian Britain.

Standing in a powerful pose increases your testosterone levels. Ten thousand hours of practice leads to mastery and high achievement. Eating out of large bowls encourages overeating. These are just a few examples of big ideas that have formed the basis of popular science books, only to be overturned by further research or a closer reading of the evidence…