Author: Robert Dingwall

Robert Dingwall is an emeritus professor of sociology at Nottingham Trent University. He also serves as a consulting sociologist, providing research and advisory services particularly in relation to organizational strategy, public engagement and knowledge transfer. He is co-editor of the SAGE Handbook of Research Management.

Ebola – WHO (Still) Don’t Get It: Social Science Saves Lives
International Debate
February 9, 2015

Ebola – WHO (Still) Don’t Get It: Social Science Saves Lives

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Debating the Legacy of Ulrich Beck
News
January 7, 2015

Debating the Legacy of Ulrich Beck

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Ebola: The Human Cost of Neglecting the Social Sciences
International Debate
December 7, 2014

Ebola: The Human Cost of Neglecting the Social Sciences

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Ebola – What’s the Point of the World Health Organisation?
International Debate
October 26, 2014

Ebola – What’s the Point of the World Health Organisation?

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The Scottish Referendum: Social Science and National Identity

The Scottish Referendum: Social Science and National Identity

As the independence vote moves from all-consuming question to historical incident, what are the lessons that Scottish universities and in particular Scottish social scientists should take away?

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Is Doctor Who a Sociologist?

Is Doctor Who a Sociologist?

Doctor Who’s sobriquet implies he’s earned a doctorate in something. The Doctor’s not telling what he might have studied, but his actions and attitudes make a strong case for one discipline …

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On the Ethics of Facebook – and Drawing the Right Conclusions

On the Ethics of Facebook – and Drawing the Right Conclusions

What does the Facebook emotional contagion study really tells us about research ethics? Perhaps, argues Robert Dingwall, that its time to deregulate public social science.

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Return to Planet Quantophrenia

Return to Planet Quantophrenia

Robert Dingwall argues that numeracy and and a grasp of quantitative method of course have a place in the education of a social scientist, but they shouldn’t be the only skills in the graduate’s quiver. How about he ability to walk around, for one?

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Quantophrenia is Back in Town

Quantophrenia is Back in Town

Many social scientists find themselves members of a cult of quantification, argues Robert Dingwall, in love with numbers for their own sake even when those numbers produce no useful knowledge.

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Tamiflu and the Ethics of the British Medical Journal

Tamiflu and the Ethics of the British Medical Journal

No one expected Tamiflu to be a wonder drug, but indications are that it’s moderately useful in fighting a serious public health threat. But that message was lost last week in an ill-starred rush to beat up on ‘wicked’ Big Pharma, argues Robert Dingwall.

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Publication Ethics and Biomedical Imperialism

Publication Ethics and Biomedical Imperialism

Applying ethics to social science research can raise as many issues as it answers. A new set of guidelines on which Robert DIngwall consulted gives clarity in some cases like manipulation of images and duplicate publication but leaves some other controversies unsettled.

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Floods, Politics and Science: The Case of the Somerset Levels

Floods, Politics and Science: The Case of the Somerset Levels

Feel-good interventions that don’t provide a practical good, or at least one not supported by evidence, generate questions that hinge specifically on future responses to climate change and more broadly on government decision-making in general.

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