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Return to meaning : a social science with something to say /
This book argues that we are currently witnessing not merely a decline in the quality of social science research, but the proliferation of meaningless research, of no value to society, and modest value to its authors - apart from securing employment and promotion. The explosion of published outputs,...
| Clasificación: | Libro Electrónico |
|---|---|
| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Oxford :
Oxford University Press,
[2017]
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| Edición: | First edition. |
| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
Tabla de Contenidos:
- Cover; Return to Meaning: A Social Science with Something to Say; Copyright; Acknowledgements; Contents; Part I: Loss of Meaning; 1: The Problem: So Much Noise, So Little to Say; The Problem with Nonsense; What we Mean by 'Meaning'; In Conclusion; 2: From Science as a Vocation to Science as a Game: and the Resulting Loss of Meaning; From Science as Vocation to Science as a Game; Journal Publishing and its Discontents; The Meaning of the Game; 3: Institutions Encouraging Competition, Instrumentalism, and Meaningless Research; Societal Context: On the Massification of Higher Education.
- Status Competition at Different Levels and the Proliferation of Published ResearchInstitutional Conditions: Journal Publication Logics and Professional Norms; Academics: Victims or in Charge?; Conclusion; 4: Researchers Making Sense of Meaningless Research; 'I am a real researcher': Scientific Ritualism; 'I am a part of a far greater whole': Incrementalism; 'I am doing something which only few people can understand': Esotericism; 'I use the right words and therefore I am good': Discursivism; 'I am doing something which is extremely important for me': Egocentrism.
- 'It may not lead to much valuable knowledge but I'm having fun': Hedonism'My research is useless and so am I': Self-Denigration; 'It may be meaningless, but look how fast I'm climbing the ladder!': Careerism; 'While doing like everyone else, I choose to suffer heroically': Radical Despair; On 'Better' Motives; In Conclusion; 5: Methodologies and Writings that Turn into Black Holes of Meaning; Specialization and the Triumph of Technique over Meaning; Gap-Spotting; Formulaic Empiricism; Socspeak; Original Text; Translation; Original Text; Translation; Other Examples; In Conclusion.
- Part II: Recovery of Meaning6: Recovering Meaning by Reforming Academic Identities and Practices; An Emphasis on Meaningful Research; Cultivating a More Scholarly Identity: From Gap-Spotter to Path-(Up)Setter; Polymorphic Research; Two Methodologies for Doing Interesting Research; Recovering Meaning in Teaching; In Conclusion; 7: Recovering Meaning by Reforming Organizations and Institutions; Professional Communities Reclaiming Meaning; Rethinking Professional Norms: Journals and Other Publication Forms; Rethinking Professional Norms: Conferences, Seminars, and Workshops.
- Opening Science to Public ScrutinyPromoting Meaningful Research at Universityand Departmental Levels; Downgrading Instrumentalism Associated with Careerism; Against (Bureaucratic) Research Ethics; Training and Workshops; Education and PhD Training; In Conclusion; 8: Recovering Meaning Through Policy Changes; Higher Education Policies; Broad Assessments of Key Contributions; Cautious Use of Bibliometrics; The Impact of Academic Research on Academic, Professional, and Public Audiences; Evaluation of Research and Other Social Contributions; Governments Supporting a Renewed Emphasis on Teaching.