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Encyclopedia > Scientific misconduct

Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in professional scientific research. The main forms of scientific misconduct are: Scholarly method - or as it is more commonly called, scholarship - is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ethikos, meaning arising from habit) is a major branch of philosophy. ... A professional provides a service in exchange for payment in accordance with established protocols for licensing, ethics, procedures, standards of service and training/certification. ... Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of knowledge attained by verifiable means. ...

  • fabrication--the publication of deliberately false or misleading research, often subdivided in:
    • fabrication--the actual making up of research data and (the intent of) publishing them
    • falsification--manipulation of research data and processes or omitting critical data or results
  • plagiarism--the act of taking credit (or attempting to take credit) for the work of another. A subset is
    • Citation Plagiarism-- willful or negligent failure to appropriately credit other or prior discoverers, so as to give an improper impression of priority. AKA, "citation amnesia", the "disregard syndrome" and "bibliographic negligence". Arguably, the most common type of scientific misconduct. Improper credit can also be inadvertently-assigned, see Dulbecco's law.
  • the violation of ethical standards regarding human and animal experiments, such as the standard that a human subject of the experiment must give informed consent to the experiment.

Example definitions from a Lancet review on Handling of Scientific Misconduct in Scandinavian countries: [1] Fabrication, in the context of scientific inquiry and academic research, refers to the act of intentionally falsifying research results, such as reported in a journal article. ... Plagiarism is the practice of dishonestly claiming original authorship of material which one has not actually created, such as when a person incorporates material from someone elses work into his own work without attributing it. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ethikos, meaning arising from habit) is a major branch of philosophy. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (known as the great apes). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... In the scientific method, an experiment (Latin: ex-+-periri, of (or from) trying), is a set of actions and observations, performed in the context of solving a particular problem or question, to support or falsify a hypothesis or research concerning phenomena. ... Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon an appreciation and understanding of the facts and implications of an action. ... The Lancet is one of the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed medical journals in the world, published weekly by Elsevier, part of Reed Elsevier. ...

  • Danish Definition: "Intention(al) or gross negligence leading to fabrication of the scientific message or a false credit or emphasis given to a scientist"
  • Swedish Definition: "Intention{al} distortion of the research process by fabrication of data, text, hypothesis, or methods from another researcher's manuscript form or publication; or distortion of the research process in other ways."

In addition, some academics consider suppression--the failure to publish significant findings due to the results being adverse to the interests of the researcher or his/her sponsor(s)--to be a form of misconduct as well; this is discussed below.


In some cases, scientific misconduct may also constitute violations of the law, but not always. Being accused of the activities described in this article is a serious matter for a practicing scientist, with severe consequences should it be determined that a researcher intentionally or carelessly engaged in misconduct.


Three percent of the 3,475 research institutions that report to the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Research Integrity, indicate some form of scientific misconduct. (Source: Wired Magazine, March 2004) The United States Department of Health and Human Services, often abbreviated HHS, is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. ... Several agencies named Office of Research Integrity investigate cases of scientific misconduct. ... Wired is a full-color monthly magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993. ...


The validity of the methods and results of scientific papers are often scrutinized in journal clubs. In this venue, members can decide amongst themselves with the help of peers if a scientific paper's ethical standards are met. A journal club is a group of individuals who meet regularly to evaluate critically the clinical application of recent articles in medical literature. ...

Contents

Motivation to commit scientific misconduct

According to David Goodstein of Caltech, there are three main motivators for scientists to commit misconduct, which are briefly summarised here. David L. Goodstein (born 1939) is a U.S. physicist and educator. ... California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (commonly known as Caltech) is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ...

  • Career pressure

Science is still a very strongly career-driven discipline. Scientists depend on a good reputation to receive ongoing support and funding; and a good reputation relies largely on the publication of high-profile scientific papers. Hence, there is a strong imperative to "publish or perish". Clearly, this may motivate desperate (or fame-hungry) scientists to fabricate results. The references in this article would be clearer with a different style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... Funding or financing is to provide capital (funds), which means money for a project, a person, a business or any other private or public institution. ...

  • "Knowing the right answer"

Even on the rare occasions when scientists do falsify data, they almost never do so with the active intent to introduce false information into the body of scientific knowledge. Rather, they intend to introduce a fact that they believe is true, without going to the trouble and difficulty of actually performing the experiments required.

  • "The ability to get away with it"

In most scientific fields, results are often difficult to reproduce accurately, being obscured by noise, artifacts and other extraneous data. That means that even if a scientist does falsify data, they can expect to get away with it - or at least claim innocence if their results conflict with others in the same field. NOiSE is a one volume manga created by Tsutomu Nihei as a prequel to his acclaimed ten-volume work, Blame!. It offers some rather sketchy information concerning the Megastructures origins and initial size, as well as the origins of Silicon life. ... This page is about artifacts in science. ... In general, data consist of propositions that reflect reality. ...


Cases of alleged scientific misconduct and related incidents

Below is an incomplete list of cases of alleged scientific misconduct. Some of the cases are relatively minor, such as Robert Millikan's data selection in his famous oil-drop experiment, which, while potentially suspicious, does not seem to have been used in a misleading way or change the fundamental correctness of the experimental results. In other cases, the accusations are for things such as outright fabrication or fraud and are considered very serious. In some cases the accusations are in regards to the ethics of research subjects. In some cases, the question as to whether they are actually instances of misconduct or not is still in debate. Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist who won the 1923 Nobel Prize for his measurement of the charge on the electron and for his work on the photoelectric effect. ... The purpose of Robert Millikans oil-drop experiment (1909) was to measure the electric charge of the electron. ...

Emil Abderhalden (9 March 1877 - 5 August 1950) was a Swiss biochemist and physiologist. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. ... Elias Alsabti is an Iraqi medical researcher who has been exposed for scientific fraud. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ... Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. ... David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist and a winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. ... Thereza Imanishi-Kari Thereza Imanishi-Kari (b. ... French immunologist Jacques Benveniste (March 12, 1935 - October 3, 2004) gained international notoriety in 1988 when he published a paper in the prestigious scientific journal Nature that claimed to have found valid evidence for homeopathy. ... Bruno Bettelheim (August 28, 1903 - March 13, 1990) was an American writer and child psychologist. ... Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain, and behavior. ... The Bogdanov Affair is an academic dispute regarding a series of theoretical physics papers written by French twin brothers Igor and Grichka Bogdanov (or Bogdanoff). ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease and injury. ... Sir Cyril Lodowic Burt (March 3, 1883 – October 10, 1971) was a prominent British educational psychologist. ... Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain, and behavior. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... John Darsee (born c. ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease and injury. ... Charles Dawson (1864–1916) was an amateur British archeologist who is credited or blamed with discoveries that turned out to be imaginative frauds, including that of the Piltdown man, which he presented in 1912. ... The portrait painted by John Cooke in 1915. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word , human or person) consists of the study of humanity (see genus Homo). ... The Blue Marble: The famous photo of the Earth taken en route to the Moon by Apollo 17s Harrison Schmitt on December 7, 1972. ... Fujimura Shinichi (b. ... Bold textSUCK ON THAT MUTHA FUCKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Dr. Robert C. Gallo Robert Charles Gallo (born March 23, 1937) is a U.S. biomedical researcher. ... Virology, often considered a part of microbiology, is the study of biological viruses: their structure and classification, their ways to infect and exploit cells to reproduce and cause disease, and their potential uses in research and therapy. ... John R. Lott Jr. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... Dr. Wilmut with Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... Hwang Woo-Suk (황우석) (born 29 January 1953) is a South Korean biomedical scientist. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... Gerald P. Schatten is a stem cell researcher at the University of Pittsburgh. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... Dr. William McBride, gynaecologist and obstetrictrician, is the Australian doctor who discovered the teratogenicity of thalidomide which ended the practice of prescribing it during pregnancy. ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease and injury. ... Professor Sir Samuel Roy Meadow (born 1933) is a former British paediatrician. ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease and injury. ... Gregor Johann Mendel Gregor Johann Mendel (July 20[1], 1822 – January 6, 1884) was an Augustinian abbot who is often called the father of modern genetics for his study of the inheritance of traits in pea plants. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist who won the 1923 Nobel Prize for his measurement of the charge on the electron and for his work on the photoelectric effect. ... The purpose of Robert Millikans oil-drop experiment (1909) was to measure the electric charge of the electron. ... Victor Ninov was a researcher in the nuclear chemistry group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who was alleged to have fabricated the evidence used to claim the creation of ununoctium and ununhexium. ... The first few hydrogen atom electron orbitals shown as cross-sections with color-coded probability density. ... Chemistry (from Greek χημεία khemeia meaning alchemy, see below for possible origins of this word) is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, dealing primarily with collections of atoms (such as molecules, crystals, and metals). ... Luk Van Parijs was an associate professor of biology in Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Center for Cancer Research. ... Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. ... Eric Poehlman, formerly of the Université de Montréal, Canada, is a researcher into obesity. ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease and injury. ... Stanley Pons was a chemist at University of Utah who, while working with Martin Fleischmann of the University of Southampton, announced the discovery of cold fusion on March 23, 1989. ... Martin Fleischmann (1927-) is a chemist at the University of Southampton who, while working with Stanley Pons of University of Utah, announced the discovery of cold fusion on March 23, 1989. ... Charles Bennett examines three cold fusion tests cells at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA Cold fusion cell at the US Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego, CA (2005) Cold fusion is a theoretical fusion reaction that occurs near room temperature and pressure using relatively simple devices. ... Reiner Protsch (born January 14, 1939 in Berlin) is a German anthropologist who published false carbon dating data of human fossils. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word , human or person) consists of the study of humanity (see genus Homo). ... Dr. George A. Ricaurte is a neurology researcher which works at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Department of Neurology. ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease and injury. ... This article concerns problems with a paper, Severe dopaminergic neurotoxicity in primates after a common recreational dose regimen of MDMA (ecstasy) that appeared in the leading journal Science, treated as a case study in scientific method. ... Social psychology is often conceived to be the study of how individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others. ... Jan Hendrik Schön Jan Hendrik Schön (born 1970) is a German physicist who briefly rose to prominence after a series of apparent breakthroughs (recipient of Otto-Klung-Weberbank Prize for Physics in 2001, Braunschweig Prize in 2001 and Outstanding Young Investigator Award of the Materials Research Society in... The first few hydrogen atom electron orbitals shown as cross-sections with color-coded probability density. ... Chemistry (from Greek χημεία khemeia meaning alchemy, see below for possible origins of this word) is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, dealing primarily with collections of atoms (such as molecules, crystals, and metals). ... Photo:Tidsskrift for den norske legeforening Jon Sudbø (born May 3, 1961) is a dentist, consultant oncologist and medical researcher at The Norwegian Radium Hospital in Oslo, Norway. ... Andrew Jess Dannenberg (born 17 February 1956) is a U.S. physician and researcher, currently professor at Weill Medical College/M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. ... William Summerlin worked at the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York. ... Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. ... Dr. Andrew Wakefield (born 1957 in the United Kingdom) is a Canadian trained gastroenterologist, best known as the lead author of a controversial 1998 research study, published in the Lancet, which reported bowel symptoms in a selected sample of 12 children with autistic spectrum disorders, and claimed a possible connection... MMR may stand for: The MMR vaccine Modified Modified Read, a facsimile coding This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. ... John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878–September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism, after doing research on animal behavior. ... The Little Albert experiment was an experiment showing empirical evidence of classical conditioning. ... Developmental psychology is the scientific study of age related changes in behavior across the life span. ...

Rehabilitation

The accusation of scientific misconduct is as controversial as knowledge is generally under construction. It may occur that the scientific community make errors in accusing one of their colleagues. Generally, it is not so damaging for knowledge which still progress. The scientific community is known for its self-regulation. But, it can break careers and destinies and anyone is set to face its errors. Still, the French community of geologists made a public rehabilitation of Jacques Deprat who was accused in 1919. It seems to be the unique case of rehabilitation in the history of sciences.


Suppression/non-publication of data

A related issue concerns the deliberate suppression, failure to publish, or selective release of the findings of scientific studies. Such cases may not be strictly definable as scientific misconduct as the deliberate falsification of results is not present. However, in such cases the intent may nevertheless be to deliberately deceive. Studies may be suppressed or remain unpublished because the findings are perceived to undermine the commercial, political or other interests of the sponsoring agent or because they fail to support the ideological goals of the researcher. Examples include the failure to publish studies if they demonstrate the harm of a new drug, or truthfully publishing the benefits of a treatment while omitting harmful side-effects.


This is distinguishable from other concepts such as bad science, junk science or pseudoscience where the criticism centres on the methodology or underlying assumptions. It may be possible in some cases to use statistical methods to show that the datasets offered in relation to a given field are incomplete. However this may simply reflect the existence of real-world restrictions on researchers without justifying more sinister conclusions. Junk or bunk science is a term used to describe purportedly scientific data, research, analyses or claims which are perceived to be driven by political, financial or other questionable motives. ... Phrenology is regarded today as a classic example of pseudoscience. ...


Some cases go beyond the failure to publish complete reports of all findings with researchers knowingly making false claims based on falsified data. This falls clearly under the definition of scientific misconduct, even if the result was achieved by suppressing data. In the case of Raphael B. Stricker, M.D.[7], for instance, the U.S. Office of Research Integrity has found the removal of samples from a data set in order to reach a desired conclusion to be grounds for disbarment from funding. The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) is one of the bodies concerned with research integrity in the United States. ...


Responsibility of authors and of coauthors

Authors and coauthors of scientific publications have a variety of responsibilities. Contravention of the rules of scientific authorship may lead to a charge of scientific misconduct. All authors, including coauthors, are expected to have made reasonable attempts to check findings submitted to academic journals for publication. Simultaneous submission of scientific findings to more than one journal or duplicate publication of findings is usually regarded as misconduct.


Guest authorship (where there is stated authorship in the absence of involvement) and ghost authorship (where the real author is not listed as an author) are commonly regarded as forms of research misconduct. In some cases coauthors of faked research have been accused of inappropriate behavior or research misconduct for failing to verify reports authored by others or by a commercial sponsor. Examples include the case of Gerald Schatten who co-authored with Hwang Woo-Suk, the case of Professor Geoffrey Chamberlain who co-authored papers with the Pearce (see lessons from the Pearce affair), and the coauthors with Jan Hendrik Schön at Bell Laboratories. More recent cases include the Nemeroff affair Journal editor quits in conflict scandal and the so called Sheffield Actonel affair. Gerald P. Schatten is a stem cell researcher at the University of Pittsburgh. ... Hwang Woo-Suk (황우석) (born 29 January 1953) is a South Korean biomedical scientist. ... Jan Hendrik Schön Jan Hendrik Schön (born 1970) is a German physicist who briefly rose to prominence after a series of apparent breakthroughs (recipient of Otto-Klung-Weberbank Prize for Physics in 2001, Braunschweig Prize in 2001 and Outstanding Young Investigator Award of the Materials Research Society in...


Authors are expected to keep all study data for later examination even after publication. The failure to keep data may be regarded as misconduct. Some scientific journals require that authors provide information to allow readers to determine whether the authors might have commercial or non-commercial conflicts of interest. Authors are also commonly required to provide information about ethical aspects of research, particularly where research involves human or animal participants or use of biological material. Provision of incorrect information to journals may be regarded as misconduct. Financial pressures on universities have encouraged this type of misconduct. The majority of recent cases of alleged misconduct involving undisclosed conflicts of interest or failure of the authors to have seen scientific data involve collaborative research between scientists and biotechnology companies (Nemeroff, Blumsohn).


Photo Manipulation

In 2006, the Journal of Cell Biology gained publicity [8] for instituting tests to detect photo manipulation in papers that were being considered for publication. This was in response to the increased usage of programs by scientists such as Photoshop, which facilitate photo manipulation. Since then more publishers, including the Nature Publishing Group are instituting similar test and require authors to minimize and specify the extent of photo manipulation when a manuscript is submitted for publication 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Adobe Photoshop is a bitmap graphics editor (with some text and vector graphics capabilities) published by Adobe Systems. ... Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is an international publishing company that publishes scientific journals. ...


Although the type of manipulations that are allowed can depend greatly on the type of experiment that is presented and also differ from one journal to another, in general the following manipulations are not allowed:

  • splicing together different images to represent a single experiment
  • changing brightness and contrast of only a part of the image
  • any change that conceals information, even when it is considered to be aspecific, which includes:
    • changing brightness and contrast to leave only the most intense signal
    • using clone tools to hide information
  • showing only a very small part of the photograph so that additional information is not visible

And more in general, most journals nowadays urge authors to use photo manipulation with restraint and great care. Brightness is an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears to emit a given amount of light. ... It has been suggested that contrast (formula) be merged into this article or section. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...


See also

This is an article about a scandal. ... Archaeological forgery is a manufacture of supposedly ancient items that are sold to the antiquities market and may even end up in the collections of museums. ... The Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty (the Udvalgene Vedrørende Videnskabelig Uredelighed, or UVVU) are a set of three committees under the Danish Ministry of Research and Information Technology: a committee for natural science, agricultural and veterinary science and technical science; a committee for health and medical science; and a... Bjørn Lomborg Bjørn Lomborg (born January 6, 1965) is a political scientist and former director of the Institute for Environmental Assessment in Copenhagen, Denmark. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... A retraction is a public statement that confirms that a previously made statement was incorrect, invalid, or morally wrong. ... Fabrication, in the context of scientific inquiry and academic research, refers to the act of intentionally falsifying research results, such as reported in a journal article. ... Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to a variety of topics involving scientific research. ...

References

  1. ^ (July 1999). "Review: Handling of scientific dishonesty in the Nordic countries". The Lancet 354: 11-18. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
  • William Broad & Nicholas Wade, Betrayers of the Truth. Oxford University Press, 1982
  • Brock K. Kilbourne and Maria T. Kilbourne, The Dark Side of Science, Proc. of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Pacific Division, AAAS, April 30, 1983.

The Lancet is one of the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed medical journals in the world, published weekly by Elsevier, part of Reed Elsevier. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ...

External links

  • http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993817
  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathy.shtml
  • http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/kammerer/
  • http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/2002/02JF/02jfgoo.htm
  • Scientists don't read the papers they cite
  • Lancet article on the hahdling of Scientific Misconduct in Scandinavian countries

  Results from FactBites:
 
Scientific misconduct - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1227 words)
Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in professional scientific research.
The accusation of scientific misconduct is as controversial as knowledge is generally under construction.
Such cases may not be strictly definable as scientific misconduct as the deliberate falsification of results is not present.
Scientific - definition of Scientific - Labor Law Talk Dictionary (1567 words)
Science is practiced in university and other scientific institutes as well as in the field; as such it is a solid vocation in academia, but has also been practiced by amateurs, who typically engage in the observational part of science.
Studies of anthropology, history, psychology, and sociology are sometimes called "soft sciences." Proponents of this division use the arguments that the "soft sciences" do not use the scientific method, admit anecdotal evidence, or are not mathematical, all adding up to a "lack of rigor" in their methods.
The term "science" is sometimes pressed into service for new and interdisciplinary fields that make use of scientific methods at least in part, and which in any case aspire to be systematic and careful explorations of their subjects, including computer science, library and information science, and environmental science.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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