Curing Coronavirus Isn’t a Job for Social Scientists
The rush to publish results in this pandemic isn’t doing the public any favors. In the end, it might hurt the efforts of researchers, too.
For policy, for the people.
Photographer: Paul Morigi/Getty Images North AmericaThe public appetite for more information about Covid-19 is understandably insatiable. Social scientists have been quick to respond. They are writing papers at a record pace, and academic journals are expediting the review process so that these new, exciting results can be published in a timely and newsworthy manner. While I understand the impulse, the rush to publish findings quickly in the midst of the crisis does little for the public and harms the discipline of social science.
Even in normal times, social science suffers from a host of pathologies. Results reported in our leading scientific journals are often unreliable because researchers can be careless, they might selectively report their results, and career incentives could lead them to publish as many exciting results as possible, regardless of validity. A global crisis only exacerbates these problems. Rushing to publish timely results means more carelessness, and the promise of favorable news coverage in a time of crisis further distorts incentives.