Social Science Space

Their paper about the evolution of malaria was in review for what seemed like an eternity. Every month, Susan Perkins and her then-graduate student Spencer Galen would check in with the editors. The problem seemed to be a lack of peer reviewers …

A new report from the Committee on Publication Ethics, or COPE, offers an intriguing way to look at the differences between academic disciplines: what do journal editors routinely identify as struggles?

COSSA is now seeking nominations for the 2020 COSSA Public Impact Award. If you know of individuals, groups, or organizations that are using social and behavioral science research to affect real change in society, consider nominating them!

Method Space is hosting a free webinar about the book-writing/publishing process in full, from acquisition to publication. Make sure to register before November 14th!

Images tap into attitudes, but not always in the same way for every viewer. An image’s perceived level of influence is based on “believability.” This is the idea that it is true if we agree, fake if we disagree. And it is here that the power of images intersects with the great challenge of the digital age. How do we understand politics, fake news, campaigning, and citizenship in an area dominated by images?

With the advent of the new Research on Research Institute, our Robert Dingwall notes that while research on research fills a gap in the world of knowledge. However, it is important not to confuse it with the research enterprise itself or to assume that this will benefit from being made so planned, rational and evidence-based that the result is to squeeze innovation out of the system.

Oscar Williams recounts his experience traveling to the Houses of Parliament with Sense about Science’s “Evidence Week” initiative.

Current mainstream economic theory needs an overhaul. Modern advanced economies are complex, evolving systems, which cannot continue to be understood only through aggregate quantity. Sergio Focardi discusses the explanatory power of qualitative (in addition to quantitative) understandings of the market.

This Tuesday at 9 a.m., the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will be hosting a national symposium in response to the 200-page report: Reproducibility and Replicability in Science. The symposium will feature discussions on actions taken or contemplated in response to the report’s findings. Learn more or find out how to watch live.

COSSA is calling for the social science community to submit stories of social sciences successes, whether it be advances in research, an example of how social science is being used effectively in your community, an educational experience or teacher who shaped the trajectory of your social science career.

To end his trilogy of articles on the research metric system (and Google Scholar in particular), Louis Coiffait explores what improvements could be made.

In his second article about the citation system and Google Scholar, Louis Coiffait looks at some of the current criticisms.