Communication

Weekly Overview of Social Science News

January 26, 2014 1729

“The simplest explanation for ‘the curious absence of socially conservative economics’ the same reason that there aren’t many social conservatives in any academic field: Because social conservatism is considered uniquely socially disreputable in elite culture, in ways that libertarianism and economic conservatism are not.”

“Admittedly, NSF and NIH do both fund some HSS research, but the amounts involved are tiny compared with their STM expenditures – for example, just $250m or so of NSF’s $5.5bn research funds is spent on social, behavioral, and economic sciences. The only field receiving less funding is the US Arctic Research Commission!”

“‘The program suggested by our article would not fundamentally change the nature of social science,’ said David Laitin, a political science professor at Stanford University and a co-author of the article. ‘Rather, it would have small implications in the way we collect and report our data. It would also invite us to put more attention to the replication of well-known findings rather than investigations of new factors. But these small changes in our practices could have large effects in revising what we thought were well-established findings.'”

“[G Venkat Raman] expresses his disappointment in the overall decline in interest in social science amongst parents and schools. ‘We have not been able to generate a section of scholars to inspire youngsters to pursue social science for higher education. Schools too feel that having just one period a day for history and geography is more than enough. But what has surprised me is when students come up to me and admit that they did not know social science is such a beautiful subject,’ he says.

“’If you’re analyzing the phone book — or the 21st century version thereof — you shouldn’t have to consider it to be human subjects research,’ said Susan Fiske, a professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University, who led the committee.”

Senior Marketing Manager at SAGE, and editor of the SAGE Insight blog

View all posts by Lorna McConville

Related Articles

Canada’s Storytellers Challenge Seeks Compelling Narratives About Student Research
Communication
November 21, 2024

Canada’s Storytellers Challenge Seeks Compelling Narratives About Student Research

Read Now
Deciphering the Mystery of the Working-Class Voter: A View From Britain
Insights
November 14, 2024

Deciphering the Mystery of the Working-Class Voter: A View From Britain

Read Now
Julia Ebner on Violent Extremism
Insights
November 4, 2024

Julia Ebner on Violent Extremism

Read Now
Ninth Edition of ‘The Evidence’: Tackling the Gender Pay Gap 
Communication
October 31, 2024

Ninth Edition of ‘The Evidence’: Tackling the Gender Pay Gap 

Read Now
The Conversation Podcast Series Examines Class in British Politics

The Conversation Podcast Series Examines Class in British Politics

Even in the 21st century, social class is a part of being British. We talk of living in a post-class era but, […]

Read Now
Emerson College Pollsters Explain How Pollsters Do What They Do

Emerson College Pollsters Explain How Pollsters Do What They Do

As the U.S. presidential election approaches, news reports and social media feeds are increasingly filled with data from public opinion polls. How […]

Read Now
Diving Into OSTP’s ‘Blueprint’ for Using Social and Behavioral Science in Policy

Diving Into OSTP’s ‘Blueprint’ for Using Social and Behavioral Science in Policy

Just in time for this past summer’s reading list, in May 2024 the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (technically, […]

Read Now
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments