SBP: CAREER: Race, Gender, and the Science of Science

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Abstract

The "science of science" has recently exploded in popularity as researchers turn scientific methods of investigation around to investigate the practice of science itself. While some attention has been paid to issues of marginalization and representation, these concerns have generally not been brought to bear on other questions within the science of science regarding how to enhance scientific progress. The research component of this project fills the resulting gaps in our understanding. The project demonstrates when attempts to improve science not only further entrench (or even amplify) current injustices, but backfire, ultimately impeding scientific progress. Moreover, it examines how ideas spread throughout diverse communities, both providing insight into how current inequities hinder scientific progress and illuminating questions surrounding belief spread and polarization. Finally, it uncovers hidden, unsuspected roadblocks for marginalized groups and suggests potential remedies, promoting diversity in scientific fields. This research component is intertwined with teaching and outreach components, with initiatives including the development of courses discussing diverse methods used to investigate scientific practice (e.g., from philosophy, history, sociology, science of science), a national workshop for members of underrepresented/marginalized groups intending to pursue research in the science of science, and innovative K-12 STEM programming which demonstrates the importance of diversity in action. This project employs tools from evolutionary game theory and network science to provide a picture of how aspects of social identity, e.g. race and gender, matter both to scientific progress and to how researchers scientifically investigate the institution of science. These tools, which capture the dynamics of scientists' interactions and the structure of scientific communities, enable the project to integrate insights from feminist philosophy of science with insights from science of science, to the benefit of both fields. Many theories in the science of science take for granted that there are the same credit incentives, chances of work being published and cited, etc. for all scientists, regardless of social identity. Yet, as has long been recognized within feminist philosophy of science, these considerations matter: researchers are excluded or marginalized according to social identity, and scientific progress is hampered by the resulting lack of diverse ideas and perspectives. This project reveals how our understanding of how to achieve well-functioning science can change drastically once social identity is taken into account. Meanwhile, the scientific tools used in this project have clear power to illuminate questions of interest to feminist philosophers of science, e.g. how communication networks within scientific communities influence knowledge generation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.