The Waters We Swim In: Replicability and the Evolution of Scientific Norms

TL;DR

This paper discusses how scientific norms and practices are influenced by social and political contexts, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance research integrity and replicability.

Contribution

It advocates for community-driven safeguards and interdisciplinary reflection to adapt scientific norms to evolving societal and political challenges.

Findings

Highlighting the impact of social and political factors on research integrity

Proposing interdisciplinary collaborations to improve scientific norms

Suggesting community-driven safeguards for better replicability

Abstract

In recent years, a series of high-profile retractions and fraud cases have arisen in physics, sparking a conversation about research integrity and replicability. Here, we discuss how the practice of science is shaped by the social and political context in which it operates. Reflection on our norms and values could provide a route to create community-driven safeguards that respond to the changing demands in which our research occurs. We propose that collaborations between physicists, philosophers, social scientists, and historians of science could facilitate these reflections and provide new ideas for social science and humanities colleagues.