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

“科学的科学”最近流行起来，因为研究人员把科学的调查方法转向调查科学本身的实践。虽然对边缘化和代表性问题给予了一定的关注，但这些关注一般没有影响到科学学中有关如何促进科学进步的其他问题。该项目的研究部分填补了我们理解中的空白。该项目表明，当试图改善科学不仅进一步巩固（甚至放大）当前的不公正，但适得其反，最终阻碍科学进步。此外，它还研究了思想如何在不同的社区传播，既提供了对当前不平等如何阻碍科学进步的见解，又阐明了围绕信仰传播和两极分化的问题。最后，它为边缘化群体揭示了隐藏的、未被怀疑的障碍，并提出了潜在的补救措施，促进了科学领域的多样性。该研究部分与教学和推广部分交织在一起，其举措包括开发讨论用于调查科学实践的各种方法的课程（例如，从哲学，历史，社会学，科学学），一个全国性的研讨会，为代表性不足/边缘化群体的成员打算从事科学学的研究，和创新的K-12 STEM计划，表明多样性的重要性在行动中。该项目采用进化博弈论和网络科学的工具，以提供一个图片的社会身份的各个方面，如种族和性别，这既关系到科学进步，也关系到研究人员如何科学地研究科学制度。这些工具捕捉了科学家互动的动态和科学界的结构，使该项目能够将女权主义科学哲学的见解与科学学的见解结合起来，使两个领域都受益。科学学中的许多理论想当然地认为，所有科学家，无论其社会身份如何，都有相同的学分激励、工作被发表和引用的机会等。然而，正如女权主义科学哲学长期以来所认识到的那样，这些考虑因素很重要：研究人员根据社会身份被排斥或边缘化，科学进步因缺乏多样的思想和观点而受到阻碍。这个项目揭示了一旦考虑到社会身份，我们对如何实现良好运作的科学的理解会发生巨大变化。同时，该项目中使用的科学工具，对于阐明女性主义科学哲学家感兴趣的问题（例如，科学界的交流网络如何影响知识的产生）具有明显的力量。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.