Merton's norms and the evolution of scientific publication

Science Communication

Concepts of Science Communication

Norms

Communalism

Communalism deals with the notion that intellectual or scientific discoveries belong to the entire human race as should be shared with everyone in the community. This does not imply that there is no competition rather the competition is often quiet fierce. However, ideas must be subject to criticism to be tested and compared and thus information must be shared. Russel Wallace created the hypothesis that there were patterns of distribution inherent in the course of evolution and this theory has been tested and furthered by many subsequent studies because Wallace shared his theories with the community (Knapp).

Universalism

This norm deals with the fact that it is the claim that is important as opposed to the individuals making the claim. The significant factor is the information being shared and one person's opinion should not be valued over another's because of their background or reputation. For example, Wallace's ideas were not furthered because of his reputation. Rather, they were furthered because their own merit.

Disinterestedness

This concept deals with the fact that scientific claims aren't being used to further someone's own personal position. That scientist should have roughly the same background information and are able to test the claims of another whereas the public might not understand the situation and believe something based on a scientists reputation rather than the merit of their contribution.

Organized Skeptkism

This is the norm that helps to balance universalism. Once a theory is presented to the community, then it is expected to be heavily scrutinized by peers. The theories that are able to stand up to skeptism are the ones that can eventually be included in the body of scientific knowledge.

2. Function of peer review

There are many functions to the peer review process. One of the main functions is that it acts as something of a quality control process. Before something is published, it must stand up to the opinions of peers that are working in the same field to verify its worthiness.

4. Changes in Publications systems

The traditional publication system has broken down some in the digital world. Since communication can be shared so easily, many authors will skip steps or publish their work in a non-peer-reviewed system online. Furthermore, there are more instances of open review for some publications and the work is often disseminated quickly; in some cases much quicker than it actually should.

5. Models of Science communication system today

The model of scientific communication today is far more complex than previous generations. In many cases the peer review process is bypassed altogether. Although this expedites the entry of the work into the field, at the same time it allows for more errors and more cases of fraud. Thus the public can be made aware of the scientific findings at any point in the process rather than after they have been published in a peer-review journal as in previous generations.