In science, the ideal of objectivity is an essential aspect of the scientific method, and is generally considered by the scientific community to come about as a result of strict observance of the scientific method, including the scientists' willingness to submit their methods and results to an open debate by their peers, and to agree on certain paradigms. For the periodical, see Science (journal) Science in the broadest sense refers to any knowledge or trained skill, especially (but not exclusively) when this is attained by verifiable means. ... The scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge of the natural world, as well as the correction and integration of previous knowledge, based on observable, empirical, measurable evidence, and subject to laws of reasoning. ... The scientific community consists of the interactions and relationships of scientists. ... Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive and position representational argument. ... A peer group is a group of people of approximately the same age, social status, and interests. ... For alternative meanings see Paradigm (disambiguation). ...

Objectivity in science is intimately related to the aim of reproducibility. Methodological aspects can be roughly distinguished in objectivity in measurement, and objectivity in experimental set-up and interpretation. As such, it is only tangentially related to the concept of objectivity in philosophy, and closer to, for example, objectivity in journalism. This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Objectivity is frequently held to be essential to journalistic professionalism (particularly in the United States); however, there is some disagreement about what the concept consists of. ...

Objectivity in measurement

To avoid the variety in subjective interpretation of quantifying terms such as "large", "considerable", and "negligeable", scientists strive, where possible, to express measurements and results on a numerical scale, and to use mechanical measuring instruments for performing the actual measuring process, eliminating much of the perceptive variability of individual observers. Where nominal data must need be used, the ideal is to use "hard", "objective" criteria for assigning the classifications, such that different classifiers would produce the same assignments. Various meters Measurement is the process of estimating the ratio of a magnitude of a quantity to a unit of the same type. ... This article discusses the use of the word Number in Mathematics. ... Captain Nemo and Professor Aronnax contemplating measuring instruments in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea In physics and engineering, measurement is the activity of comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. ... PSYCHOLOGY In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information. ... The level of measurement of a variable in mathematics and statistics describes how much information the numbers associated with the variable contain. ...

Objectivity in experimental set-up and interpretation

Another methodological aspect is the avoidance of bias, which can involve cognitive bias and cultural bias, but also sampling bias. Methods for avoiding or overcoming such bias include random sampling and double-blind trials. The term bias has many uses: In its most widely used form, bias is prejudice of some sort in terms of point of view, usually manifesting itself in written works as in editorial bias. ... Cognitive bias is any of a wide range of observer effects identified in cognitive science and social psychology including very basic statistical, social attribution, and memory errors that are common to all human beings. ... Cultural bias is interpreting and judging phenomena in terms particular to ones own culture. ... In general, a sample is a part of the total, such as one individual or a set of individuals from a population (of people or things), a small piece or amount of something larger, a number of function values of a function, or part of a song. ... Sampling is that part of statistical practice concerned with the selection of individual observations intended to yield some knowledge about a population of concern, especially for the purposes of statistical inference. ... Double-blind describes an especially stringent way of conducting an experiment, usually on living, conscious, human subjects. ...

Deliberate falsification

Next to unintentional but possibly systematic error, there is always the possibility of deliberate falsification of scientific results, whether for gain, for fame, or for ideological motives. When such cases of scientific fraud come to light, they usually give rise to an academic scandal, but it is (obviously) not known how much fraud goes undiscovered. However, for results that are considered important, other groups will try to repeat the experiment and fail, bringing these negative results into the scientific debate. This is an article about a scandal. ...

The role of the scientific community

Various scientific processes, such as peer reviews, the discussions at scientific conferences and other meetings where results are presented, and the efforts at replicating results, all are part of a social process whose purpose is to strengthen the objective aspect of the scientific method. Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. ... An academic conference is a conference for researchers (not always academics) to present and discuss their work. ...

Literature

• Porter, Theodore M., Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
• Restivo, Sal, Science, Society, and Values: Toward a Sociology of Objectivity (Lehigh PA: Lehigh University Press, 1994).