Objectivity (science)
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- For other uses of "objectivity", see objectivity (disambiguation).
In science, the ideal of objectivity is an essential aspect of the scientific method, and is generally considered by the scientific community to come about as a result of strict observance of the scientific method, including the scientists' willingness to submit their methods and results to an open debate by their peers, and to agree on certain paradigms.
Objectivity in science is intimately related to the aim of reproducibility. Methodological aspects can be roughly distinguished in objectivity in measurement, and objectivity in experimental set-up and interpretation. As such, it is only tangentially related to the concept of objectivity in philosophy, and closer to, for example, objectivity in journalism.
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[edit] Objectivity in measurement
To avoid the variety in subjective interpretation of quantifying terms such as "large", "considerable", and "negligeable", scientists strive, where possible, to express measurements and results on a numerical scale, and to use mechanical measuring instruments for performing the actual measuring process, eliminating much of the perceptive variability of individual observers. Where nominal data must need be used, the ideal is to use "hard", "objective" criteria for assigning the classifications, such that different classifiers would produce the same assignments.
[edit] Objectivity in experimental set-up and interpretation
Another methodological aspect is the avoidance of bias, which can involve cognitive bias and cultural bias, but also sampling bias. Methods for avoiding or overcoming such bias include random sampling and double-blind trials.
[edit] Deliberate falsification
Next to unintentional but possibly systematic error, there is always the possibility of deliberate falsification of scientific results, whether for gain, for fame, or for ideological motives. When such cases of scientific fraud come to light, they usually give rise to an academic scandal, but it is (obviously) not known how much fraud goes undiscovered. However, for results that are considered important, other groups will try to repeat the experiment and fail, bringing these negative results into the scientific debate.
[edit] The role of the scientific community
Various scientific processes, such as peer reviews, the discussions at scientific conferences and other meetings where results are presented, and the efforts at replicating results, all are part of a social process whose purpose is to strengthen the objective aspect of the scientific method.
[edit] Literature
- Porter, Theodore M., Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
- Restivo, Sal, Science, Society, and Values: Toward a Sociology of Objectivity (Lehigh PA: Lehigh University Press, 1994).
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