RE: FW: New Federal Science Standards Worry University Researcher s

From: Glick, Joseph (JGlick@gc.cuny.edu)
Date: Sat Sep 29 2001 - 10:10:17 PDT


Diane:

Your "huh" is an interesting one - as is the rest of your response. The
reason that this is such a mind bender is that it all sounds so reasonable -
so truth oriented. So much Research Methods I, so much "it's about time
those social scientists worried about truth for a change."

But . . . read down a bit - "peer review" is stuff in back rooms? If not
peer review then who review? "The office of objective research results?"

What is the context?

This seems to be about regulations that may be based on non-replicable
findings or faulty data - but given the authors of all the legislation it
seems more about regulations themselves.

Great! So how long does it take to replicate? Who replicates? what
conditions are considered adequate conditions of replication? How does one
evaluate whether a replication is a replication or a destined for failure
replication because of too low an N, a slight difference in technique? Etc.
How long does a challenge to a finding tie things up? What? And more
particularly - who is involved? How many replications are considered
adequate? Most likely this ends up on the office of deregulation which has
been renamed the office of objective research results.

As good as this sounds - It seems as this is a carte blanche for tying
things up in "science" that used to be tied up in lobbying.

Would the same guidelines apply to - let's say - political or military
action?

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Diane Hodges
To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
Sent: 9/29/2001 2:01 AM
Subject: Re: FW: New Federal Science Standards Worry University Researchers

HUH.

seems to me that the standards of "science" are being upheld,

and the more peculiar deviations of "social science" are being
challenged.

frankly, and forgive me, but it's about time, don't you think?

diane

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************
"Waves of hands, hesitations at street corners, someone dropping a
cigarette in a gutter - all are stories. But which is the true story?
That
I do not know. Hence I keep my phrases hung like clothes in a cupboard,
waiting for someone to wear them. Thus waiting, thus speculating, making
this note and then another, I do not cling to life."
Virginia Woolf, The Waves, 1931.
 

     (...life clings to me...)
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diane celia hodges
university of british columbia, centre for the study of curriculum and
instruction
vancouver, bc
mailing address: 46 broadview avenue, montreal, qc, H9R 3Z2



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