The Matter of Facts: Skepticism, Persuasion, and Evidence in Science (The MIT Press)

How biases, the desire for a good narrative, reliance on citation metrics, and other problems undermine confidence in modern science. Modern science is built on experimental evidence, yet scientists are often very selective in deciding what evidence to use and tend to disagree about how to interpret it. In The Matter of Facts , Gareth and Rhodri Leng explore how scientists produce and use evidence. They do so to contextualize an array of problems confronting modern science that have raised concerns about its reliability: the widespread use of inappropriate statistical tests, a shortage of replication studies, and a bias in both publishing and citing "positive" results. Before these problems can be addressed meaningfully, the authors argue, we must understand what makes science work and what leads it astray. The myth of science is that scientists constantly challenge their own thinking. But in reality, all scientists are in the business of persuading other scientists of the importance of their own ideas, and they do so by combining reason with rhetoric. Often, they look for evidence that will support their ideas, not for evidence that might contradict them; often, they present evidence in a way that makes it appear to be supportive; and often, they ignore inconvenient evidence. In a series of essays focusing on controversies, disputes, and discoveries, the authors vividly portray science as a human activity, driven by passion as well as by reason. By analyzing the fluidity of scientific concepts and the dynamic and unpredictable development of scientific fields, the authors paint a picture of modern science and the pressures it faces. Modern science is built on experimental evidence, yet scientists are often very selective in deciding what evidence to use and tend to disagree about how to interpret it. In The Matter of Facts, Gareth and Rhodri Leng explore how scientists produce and use evidence. They do so to contextualize an array of problems confronting modern science that have raised concerns about its reliability: the widespread use of inappropriate statistical tests, a shortage of replication studies, and a bias in both publishing and citing "positive" results. Before these problems can be addressed meaningfully, the authors argue, we must understand what makes science work and what leads t astray. The myth of science is that scientists constantly challenge their own thinking. But in reality, all scientists are in the business of persuading other scientists of the importance of their own ideas, and they do so by combining reason with rhetoric. Often, they look for evidence that will support their ideas, not for evidence that might contradict them; often, they present evidence in a way that makes it appear to be supportive; and often, they ignore inconvenient evidence. In a series of essays focusing on controversies, disputes, and discoveries, the authors vividly portray science as a human activity, driven by passion as well as by reason. By analyzing the fluidity of scientific concepts and the dynamic and unpredictable development of scientific fields, the authors paint a picture of modern science and the pressures it faces. -- From dust jacket Contents Preface Prelude: Sources 1 The Norms of Science, and Its Structure 2 Popper and Kuhn, and Their Conceptions of What Science Is 3 Laboratory Life: Bruno Latour and Rhetoricin Science 4 Is the Scientific Paper a Fraud? The Place of Hypotheses and Their Falsification 5 The Birth of Neuroendocrinology and the “Stuff of Legend”: A Case Study of Paradigm Change 6 The Language of Crisis and Controversy, and the Levers of Paradigm Change 7 Logical Positivism: The Trouble with Verification 8 Ambiguity of Scientific Terms 9 The Totality of Evidence: Weighing Different Types of Evidence 10 Exaggerated Claims, Semantic Flexibility, and Nonsense 11 Complexity and Its Problems for Causal Narratives 12 Publication and Citation: A Complex System 13 A Case Study of a Field in Evolution: Oxytocin, from Birth to Behavior 14 Where Are the Facts? 15 Organized Skepticism in Science 16 Webs of Belief: Citation Networks 17 Unintended Consequences: Publication and Citation Bias 18 High-Impact Papers: Citation Rates, Citation Distortions, and Mis-citation 19 Are Most Published Research Findings False? Weaknesses in the Design of Experiments and the Analysis of Their Outcomes 20 Societal and Economic Impact of Basic Research 21 Lost in Citation 22 Conviction, Expectations, and Uncertainty in Science 23 Journals, Impact Factors, and Their Corrupting Influence on Science 24 The Narrative Fallacy: How a Good Story Beats Rigor and Balance 25 Scholarship Notes Index