Aug 2026· The Scientist· Vol 8, pp. 197· 0 citations· 9 references
Abstract
During the last decade, there has been an emergence of isolated scientific studies that have been selectively cited to support claims apparently contradicting the broader evidence base, thus opening the door for scepticism on the one hand and “evidence-based” conspiracies on the other. This dangerous development in science and its wider perception within the population have been facilitated by the rapid growth and digital discoverability of the scientific literature, making it easier to search selectively for the publications that lend support to any, and often the most bizarre, hypotheses. This bias of selective reading of literature constitutes a major challenge for modern science and scientific communication. AI-based tools may help broaden evidence retrieval, yet their outputs require transparent validation and expert oversight to minimise selection bias and to ensure reliable interpretation.
The use of artificial intelligence in science is constrained by concerns about authorship, plagiarism, and attribution. These concerns are legitimate when they involve misrepresentation, concealed borrowing, or absent human responsibility. They become counterproductive, however, when authorship becomes the primary meas...
Laboratory of Information Systems· Pollution and Diseases· 0 citations
Can measurement provide an independent source of evidence in the human sciences? Recent philosophy of measurement often suggests that it cannot. This essay argues that this conclusion is too strong: even in the human sciences, instruments can sometimes be developed so that the evidence they provide is independent of th...
M. Thalos· Philosophy of the Social Sci...· 0 citations
Recent years have witnessed many strong claims that ‘diversity’ leads to more original and impactful science, which is a science-focused form of what we call “The Diversity Hypothesis.” However, what evidence supports the claim that diversity enhances scientific output or impact? This pre-registered rapid scoping revie...
Jordan P. Beck, Z. Patterson, S. Wilson· Theory and society· 0 citations
By emphasizing the integration of theory and empirics, open science, and the separation of research from activism,
Aksoy et al. (2026)
present a scientific vision for sociology. I argue that such a vision also requires taking the scientific principles of replicability, reproducibility, and robustness seriously. Yet...
