Mark Rubin

I basically liked Brian's point. I agree no "soft-pedalling" of criticism but would also advocate *careful* criticism that doesn't make misappropriation super easy!

But totally agree re. dichotomous contrasts (e.g., open and closed science) feeding a moralistic approach.

Pleasure Flavio! Nice work!

"Like the blind men and the elephant, we’re going to gain a more complete picture of a phenomenon’s replicability if we consider it from more than one perspective, and that’s what motivated us to launch our systematic review."

The Reports of Terror Management Theory’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated Last week I declared the social psychology of death officially dead.

"I think the field hasn’t spent as much effort as we should evaluating the quality of RRRs [registered replication reports] and has been too quick at drawing rigid binary conclusions from them. They provide a valuable but fallible perspective on the replicability of a phenomenon."

#MetaSci #SciSci #OpenSci #AcademicSky

"Our motivation for writing this article stems from our individual and collective encounters with citational and academic exclusion."

By Sarah Sauvé, @saralilplants.bsky.social, ‪
@helenagellersen.bsky.social & @flavioazevedo.bsky.social from @forrt.bsky.social ‬and @reproducibilitea.org

Figure 1. Mechanisms of power and privilege operating in citational practice and their effects on six individuals with different intersecting identities.

“This paper unpacks the concept of citation politics and its role in sustaining epistemic hierarchies within scholarly communities.”

osf.io/qjecy_v2

“Science is a human endeavor with flaws and biases. Scientists strive toward truth by identifying and correcting those very flaws. Yes, such openness can be exploited...But a world in which scientists soft-pedal or hide self-criticism would be worse.”

By @briannosek.bsky.social

#OpenSci

"If publishers’ known tendency to select studies with statistically significant results influences researchers to engage in...p-hacking, double-dipping, or other fraudulent activity...then that does result in the negative impacts that various studies on positive publication bias allege."

"The idea that [publication] bias is, by itself, harmful may also be driven at least in part by misunderstandings about what failure to reject a null hypothesis means...Some researchers tend to misinterpret failure to reject the null hypothesis as evidence in favor of the null hypothesis."

Metascience Is More Important Now Than Ever Opinion | A growing research field known as ‘the science of science’ will be essential for navigating an uncertain future.

New work for @undark.org. I discuss the increasing relevance of "metascience" in a changing world.

"Metascience is not without its critics. For one, some suggest that metascience could benefit from some humility, as it is not the first field to ask these questions."

undark.org/2025/07/31/o...

I’m developing a webinar focused on how we teach sex and gender in UK undergraduate Psychology programmes.

The aim of the webinar is to share current pedagogical approaches, reflect on challenges, and explore strategies for delivering content that is both evidence-based and inclusive. (1/3)

[But] "I argue that [metascience] is going to be essential moving forward in stormy times, as it can dispel the myth that science is an ideological leviathan incapable of self-reflection and can help us rebuild science into a craft that interrogates its fragilities."

Metascience Is More Important Now Than Ever Opinion | A growing research field known as ‘the science of science’ will be essential for navigating an uncertain future.

"Metascience is not without its critics. For one, some suggest that metascience could benefit from some humility, as it is not the first field to ask these questions."

Undark post by @cbo.bsky.social

Perspectivism, Concrete and Abstract - Foundations of Physics Perspectivist positions have been proposed in physics, notably in order to address the interpretive difficulties of quantum mechanics. Recently, some versions of perspectivism have also been proposed ...

My article "Perspectivism, concrete and abstract" is now published (open access)!

This is a conceptual analysis of perspectivism *in general*, then applied to shed light on both quantum perspectivism, perspectival realism, and their differences.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#philsci #philsky

a woman sits in a chair and says i want a second opinion ALT: a woman sits in a chair and says i want a second opinion

Indeed! And that "ask another person" approach works with all sorts of organisations (banks, healthcare, insurance, etc.)!

"Some constructs may just be too complex to be reduced to a single measurement. However, instead of trying to simplify abstract constructs to make them measurable, I urge exploring the consequences of their intricacy. Instead of fighting against complexity, I suggest embracing it."

#Methodology 🧪

So, an example of a journal team trying to preserve a thick ethos of research integrity in the face of intense political pressure!

"Accommodating these requests based on shifting political priorities risks setting a dangerous precedent—one in which research findings can be altered retroactively because of ideological pressures rather than scientific integrity."

"These requests do not stem from scientific concerns about methodological rigor or scientific merit but rather reflect external pressures related to 2025 presidential executive orders."

"Authors have sought to modify accepted or in-press articles by removing their names from the author list. Other requests include modifying specific wording or eliminating sentences after the article has been accepted."

"Officials from federal institutions have requested the withdrawal of articles supported by federal funds, citing concerns that they address politically sensitive topics such as transgender health."

AJPH and the Threat of Political Interference in Scientific Publishing | AJPH | Vol. 115 Issue 5 American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) from the American Public Health Association (APHA)

Maybe not exactly what you were thinking of, but I found this interesting April 2025 editorial about political interference at the American Journal of Public Health.

😂 but also 😔

Exactly! Integrity turf wars! 😊

And yes, the “’where’s your data?” comment is a good example of the value incongruence that can arise. See also…

Staff ‘demoralised’ by lack of career progression amid cost cuts Promotion freezes at UK universities exacerbate frustrations caused by mass redundancies and low pay rises, with academics warning it could force more people out of the sector

Scared to be Promoted!

“We’re hearing from members all the time that they’re holding back from putting through promotions applications because they think that moving from a lecturer to an associate professor...would put them at more risk of redundancy in the future.”

#AcademicSky #UKHE

In that case, we might encounter issues like "bounded research ethicality", and there could be ongoing intergroup competition over which research community's thick ethos is the best?!

One question - do you envisage multiple, potentially competing, thick "ethe" operating within different scientific communities?

We have suggested that a deontic shift occurs when research integrity is communicated to a broad audience. A useful and complementary term is ‘reflexivity’. This is when the deontic approach to promoting research integrity is assessed in terms of the extent to which it continues to mimic, complement, and promote the internalisation by researchers of a thick ethos.

I do like "essential tension" you discuss. Thin values and research integrity checklists will become outdated and unrepresentative if we allow research cultures to (a) evolve over time and (b) differ between epistemic communities, as they must do! So, like you say, reflexivity is essential.

No problem, and congrats on the work!