A Measure of Originality: The Elements of Science

Social Studies of Science

Volumn 29, Issue 5, 1999, Pages 765-776

  Dirk, Lynn ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0033433816     PISSN: 03063127     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/030631299029005004     Document Type: Article

References (44)

1. Robert K. Merton, 'Reference Groups, Invisible Colleges, and Deviant Behavior in Science', in Hubert J. O'Gorman (ed.), Surveying Social Life: Papers in Honor of Herbert H. Hyman (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1988), 174-89, quote at 182.
2. Sherri Bowen, quoting Stephen Lock, 'Current Controversies in Editorial Peer Review' (meeting report), Council of Biology Editors [CBE] Views, Vol. 16 (1994), 91-93, quote at 93. For wider discussion, see S. Lock, A Difficult Balance: Editorial Peer Review in Medicine (London: Provincial Hospitals Trust, 1985)
3. Sherri Bowen, quoting Stephen Lock, 'Current Controversies in Editorial Peer Review' (meeting report), Council of Biology Editors [CBE] Views, Vol. 16 (1994), 91-93, quote at 93. For wider discussion, see S. Lock, A Difficult Balance: Editorial Peer Review in Medicine (London: Provincial Hospitals Trust, 1985)
4. . 3. David F. Horrobin, 'The Philosophical Basis of Peer Review and the Suppression of Innovation', Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 263 (9 March 1990), 1438-41.
5. For relevant discussions, see: Alan Lightman and Owen Gingerich, 'When Do Anomalies Begin?', Science, Vol. 255 (7 February 1992), 690-95; Juan Miguel Campanario, 'Consolation for the Scientist: Sometimes it Is Hard to Publish Papers that Are Later Highly-Cited', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 23, No. 2 (May 1993), 342-62; Campanario, 'Peer Review for Journals As It Stands Today, Part 1', Science Communication, Vol. 19 (1998), 181-211; and the papers by Yalow, Boring and Morowitz cited below.
6. For relevant discussions, see: Alan Lightman and Owen Gingerich, 'When Do Anomalies Begin?', Science, Vol. 255 (7 February 1992), 690-95; Juan Miguel Campanario, 'Consolation for the Scientist: Sometimes it Is Hard to Publish Papers that Are Later Highly-Cited', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 23, No. 2 (May 1993), 342-62; Campanario, 'Peer Review for Journals As It Stands Today, Part 1', Science Communication, Vol. 19 (1998), 181-211; and the papers by Yalow, Boring and Morowitz cited below.
7. For relevant discussions, see: Alan Lightman and Owen Gingerich, 'When Do Anomalies Begin?', Science, Vol. 255 (7 February 1992), 690-95; Juan Miguel Campanario, 'Consolation for the Scientist: Sometimes it Is Hard to Publish Papers that Are Later Highly-Cited', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 23, No. 2 (May 1993), 342-62; Campanario, 'Peer Review for Journals As It Stands Today, Part 1', Science Communication, Vol. 19 (1998), 181-211; and the papers by Yalow, Boring and Morowitz cited below.
8. Rosalyn S. Yalow, 'Radioimmunoassay: A Probe for the Fine Structure of Biologic Systems', Science, Vol. 200 (16 June 1978), 1236-39, quote at 1237. The unedited quote reads: The original paper describing these findings was rejected by Science and initially rejected by The Journal of Clinical Investigation. A compromise with the editors eventually resulted in acceptance of the paper but only after we omitted 'insulin antibody' from the title and documented our conclusion that the binding globulin was indeed an antibody by showing how it met the definition of antibody given in a standard textbook of bacteriology and immunity.
9. Rosalyn S. Yalow, 'Radioimmunoassay: A Probe for the Fine Structure of Biologic Systems', Science, Vol. 200 (16 June 1978), 1236-39, quote at 1237. The unedited quote reads: The original paper describing these findings was rejected by Science and initially rejected by The Journal of Clinical Investigation. A compromise with the editors eventually resulted in acceptance of the paper but only after we omitted 'insulin antibody' from the title and documented our conclusion that the binding globulin was indeed an antibody by showing how it met the definition of antibody given in a standard textbook of bacteriology and immunity.
10. Edwin G. Boring, 'The Problem Of Originality In Science', American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 39 (1927), 70-90 , at 84; Harold J. Morowitz, 'Legacy', Hospital Practice (January 1980), 139-40.
11. Edwin G. Boring, 'The Problem Of Originality In Science', American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 39 (1927), 70-90 , at 84; Harold J. Morowitz, 'Legacy', Hospital Practice (January 1980), 139-40.
12. Nicholas C. Mullins, William Snizek and Kay Oehler, 'The Structural Analysis of a Scientific Paper', in Anthony F.J. van Raan (ed.), Handbook of Quantitative Studies of Science and Technology (New York: Elsevier Science, 1988), 81-105, quote at 82.
13. Lynn Dirk, 'From Laboratory to Scientific Literature: The Life and Death of Biomedical Research Results', Science Communication, Vol. 18 (1996), 3-28.
14. Horrobin, op. cit. note 3; H.M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985), 1-50.
15. Horrobin, op. cit. note 3; H.M. Collins, Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985), 1-50.
16. Richard Horton, 'The Scientific Paper: Fraudulent or Formative?', paper presented at the Third International Congress on Peer Review, American Medical Association (Prague, Czech Republic, 19 September 1997): http://www.ama-assn.org/public/peer/ thfo.htm (last visited 10 June 1999).
17. The explanatory text accompanying each 'Citation Classic' essay in Current Contents, a publication of the Institute of Scientific Information, is as follows: A 'Citation Classic' is a highly cited publication as identified by the Science Citation Index . . . 'Citation Classic' authors are asked to write an abstract and a commentary about the publication, emphasizing the human side of the research - how the project was initiated, whether any obstacles were encountered, and why the work was highly cited.
18. Don A. Dillman, 'The Design and Administration of Mail Surveys', in W. Richard Scott (ed.), Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 17 (Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews, 1991), 225-49.
19. Merton, op. cit. note 1; John C. Bailar III and Kay Patterson, 'Journal Peer Review: The Need for a Research Agenda', New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 312 (7 March 1985), 654-57.
20. Merton, op. cit. note 1; John C. Bailar III and Kay Patterson, 'Journal Peer Review: The Need for a Research Agenda', New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 312 (7 March 1985), 654-57.
21. John M. Ziman, 'The Proliferation of Scientific Literature: A Natural Process', Science, Vol. 208 (25 April 1980), 369-71.
22. Eugene Garfield, personal communication (phone call, 7 March 1994).
23. Current Contents classified the journals as 'life sciences'. High-circulation general journals like Nature and Science were represented, as were general medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the British Medical Journal, which published several articles in the sample. Most of the journals, however, were highly specialized journals such as American Naturalist, Biopolymers, Critical Care Medicine, Neuroscience, Stain Technology and Virology, and had only published one article in the sample.
24. The almost identical distribution of originality types by younger and older journals that published the papers may indicate that the typology is a reliable method, even considering that they were assessed by their authors. It would be interesting to see if the same pattern of distribution would occur in a more representative set of papers. Further, if a set of papers published in recent issues of journals were used, it may be possible to analyze originality type by impact factor of the journals. Use of the impact factor was not possible in the present study, because the dates when the articles were published ranged from 1947 to 1987 and, as far as I know, journal impact factors have not been calculated for those years.
25. G. Nigel Gilbert, 'Referencing as Persuasion', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 7, No. 1 (February 1977), 113-22; Fred Grinnell, The Scientific Attitude (New York: Guilford Press, 2nd edn, 1992), 1-22, 69-82.
26. G. Nigel Gilbert, 'Referencing as Persuasion', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 7, No. 1 (February 1977), 113-22; Fred Grinnell, The Scientific Attitude (New York: Guilford Press, 2nd edn, 1992), 1-22, 69-82.
27. Dirk, op. cit. note 8.
28. Michael H. MacRoberts and Barbara R. MacRoberts, 'Quantitative Measures of Communication in Science: A Study of the Formal Level', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 16, No. 1 (February 1986), 151-72, quote at 157.
29. W.I.B. Beveridge, The Art of Scientific Investigation (New York: Vintage Books reprint, 1950), 1-71, 142-76, 215-25; Melvin J. Fregly and Marilyn Southwick Fregly, 'Role of Chance in Discovery', Journal of the Florida Medical Association, Vol. 66 (1979), 632-35.
30. W.I.B. Beveridge, The Art of Scientific Investigation (New York: Vintage Books reprint, 1950), 1-71, 142-76, 215-25; Melvin J. Fregly and Marilyn Southwick Fregly, 'Role of Chance in Discovery', Journal of the Florida Medical Association, Vol. 66 (1979), 632-35.
31. Michael J. Moravcsik, 'Some Contextual Problems of Science Indicators', in van Raan (ed.), op. cit. note 7, 1-30.
32. Laurens Laudan, 'From Theories to Research Traditions', in Baruch A. Brody and Richard E. Grandy (eds), Readings in the Philosophy of Science (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1989), 368-79, quote at 369.
33. Mullins et al., op. cit. note 7, 82.
34. Beveridge, op. cit. note 21; Fregly & Fregly, op. cit. note 21; Charles Bazerman, Shaping Written Knowledge: The Genre and Activity of the Experimental Article in Science (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), 59-79; Grinnell, op. cit. note 18.
35. Beveridge, op. cit. note 21; Fregly & Fregly, op. cit. note 21; Charles Bazerman, Shaping Written Knowledge: The Genre and Activity of the Experimental Article in Science (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), 59-79; Grinnell, op. cit. note 18.
36. Beveridge, op. cit. note 21; Fregly & Fregly, op. cit. note 21; Charles Bazerman, Shaping Written Knowledge: The Genre and Activity of the Experimental Article in Science (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), 59-79; Grinnell, op. cit. note 18.
37. Horton, op. cit. note 10.
38. Derek de Solla Price, 'The Development and Structure of the Biomedical Literature', in Kenneth S. Warren (ed.), Coping with the Biomedical Literature: A Primer for the Scientist and the Clinician (NewYork: Praeger, 1981), 3-16, quote at 3.
39. Grinnell, op. cit. note 18; Bazerman, op. cit. note 25, 3-27; C. Daniel Saltzman and William T. Newsome, 'Neural Mechanisms For Forming A Perceptual Decision', Science, Vol. 264 (8 April 1994), 231-32, 235-36; Jim Bogen and Jim Woodward, 'Observations, Theories and the Evolution of the Human Spirit', Philosophy of Science, Vol. 59 (1992), 590-611; Hilary Farris and Russell Revlin, 'The Discovery Process: A Counterfactual Strategy', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 19, No. 3 (August 1989), 497-513.
40. Grinnell, op. cit. note 18; Bazerman, op. cit. note 25, 3-27; C. Daniel Saltzman and William T. Newsome, 'Neural Mechanisms For Forming A Perceptual Decision', Science, Vol. 264 (8 April 1994), 231-32, 235-36; Jim Bogen and Jim Woodward, 'Observations, Theories and the Evolution of the Human Spirit', Philosophy of Science, Vol. 59 (1992), 590-611; Hilary Farris and Russell Revlin, 'The Discovery Process: A Counterfactual Strategy', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 19, No. 3 (August 1989), 497-513.
41. Grinnell, op. cit. note 18; Bazerman, op. cit. note 25, 3-27; C. Daniel Saltzman and William T. Newsome, 'Neural Mechanisms For Forming A Perceptual Decision', Science, Vol. 264 (8 April 1994), 231-32, 235-36; Jim Bogen and Jim Woodward, 'Observations, Theories and the Evolution of the Human Spirit', Philosophy of Science, Vol. 59 (1992), 590-611; Hilary Farris and Russell Revlin, 'The Discovery Process: A Counterfactual Strategy', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 19, No. 3 (August 1989), 497-513.
42. Grinnell, op. cit. note 18; Bazerman, op. cit. note 25, 3-27; C. Daniel Saltzman and William T. Newsome, 'Neural Mechanisms For Forming A Perceptual Decision', Science, Vol. 264 (8 April 1994), 231-32, 235-36; Jim Bogen and Jim Woodward, 'Observations, Theories and the Evolution of the Human Spirit', Philosophy of Science, Vol. 59 (1992), 590-611; Hilary Farris and Russell Revlin, 'The Discovery Process: A Counterfactual Strategy', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 19, No. 3 (August 1989), 497-513.
43. John M. Ziman, 'Information, Communication, Knowledge', Nature, Vol. 224 (25 October 1969), 318-24, quote at 320.
44. Gilbert, op. cit. note 18; MacRoberts & MacRoberts, op. cit. note 20; Bazerman, op. cit. note 25, 128-50 ; Bogen & Woodward, op. cit. note 28.