Objectivity and rigor are “harmful practices,” says major DC think tank

https://twitter.com/zaidjilani/status/1440468467484815368

by civilized • 5 years ago

15 17 5 years ago

m-watson• 5 years ago

Wow that twitter thread summary is not what the Urban article is about. Urban's piece is around the concept that research needs to be contextualized appropriately and if it is social research should probably include the communities being researched.

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/equitable-research-requires...

civilized4• 5 years ago

No, documents are not "about" what one feels like they're about, or what it would be politically convenient for them to be about. Documents are "about" the ideas they communicate via the plain words they contain.

The article literally says that objectivity and rigor are "harmful research practices". Those claims are highlighted in bold and header font, and they are the centerpiece of the document. Anyone can open up the document and see this.

ergonaught• 5 years ago

You have clearly not actually read the article, while the person you respond to has clearly done so. Why did you bother wasting your time? Curious.

dmarchand90• 5 years ago

From my brief readings in this kind of thing it seems like the researchers in this field have made the batshit move to come up with their own definitions of rigor and objectivity that's not the same as the one used in the natural sciences.

But, as far as I can tell, they're not advocating some sort of mystic rejection of reality (though they seem entirely indifferent to that kind of misinterpretation from their lousy jargon)

phdelightful3• 5 years ago

To my eye the grandparent is right and your reading is the uncharitable one. Obviously I think there is some "clickbait" going on in the title, which you can take issue with, but the article is pretty clear:

On objectivity: "Objectivity allows researchers...to define themselves as experts without learning from people with lived experience. Objectivity also gives researchers grounds to claim they have no motives or biases in their work. ... At best, objectivity curbs how impactful research can be, and, at worst, it irrevocably harms a community.

On rigor: "...researchers often define rigor as following an established research protocol meticulously instead of ensuring data are contextualized and grounded in community experience. Rigor in this sense does not guarantee trustworthiness or accuracy."

onphonenow• 5 years ago

I was curious to read definition of ableism so clicked link - got more on racism

“Mainstream scientists, geneticists and medical researchers still invoke race and use these categories in their work, even though we have been told for 70 years that they have no biological meaning, that they have only social meaning,” Saini says.

AstralStorm• 5 years ago

These are a bit bad. What should be used is say HLA group or whatever genomic and epigenetic or phenotypic variant that is relevant.

Oh wait, according to this Black American is a description of a phenotype. (Not the most detailed one, but useful.) "Black" alone is worthless unless we're talking about skin tone.

Hmm...

eganist• 5 years ago

Not sure the twitter thread is as valuable as the article itself. Suggesting a change:

"Equitable Research Requires Questioning the Status Quo"

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/equitable-research-requires...

My takeaway from the article is the assertion that because of current academic practices which value distance between researchers and subjects, research procedures, and funding-inspired biases, research is impaired by both a lack of personal insights as well as existing societal structures which often embody systemic racism. It probably could've been less edgy in making the point (the current title is a literal summary of what the author of the analysis wrote), but considering how many others tried and failed to make the same point in research (I'll find citations for this), I don't blame anyone for trying new messaging.

I'm not really equipped to say whether I agree with where the piece lands (I probably do), but I did find the author's use of "rigorous" in her bio both amusing and interesting; I'm wondering if it's a hidden critique of her own org. First highlighted in this tweet: https://twitter.com/bnprogressive41/status/14404720434434785...

---

TL;DR: it's trying to shine light on research deficiencies and prejudices differently than others have done so in the past.

evgeniysharapov• 5 years ago

I can't believe that article "Equitable Research Requires Questioning the Status Quo" is not "trolling" attempt. This can't be written in a sincere and serious fashion.

Miner49er• 5 years ago

This is kind of ironic. This tweet is taking an article about the importance of context in research out of context.

zoespivak• 5 years ago

Ignoring the thread and dealing with the link within...

Authentic participatory methods require a shift in power to the individuals and groups who have the most at stake yet the least-heard voice. Doing so is ethical and more effective, as people without institutional power hold essential knowledge that more “objective” stakeholders do not possess.

This seems to me like a good blueprint for activism but anathema to the idea of 'research'. Someone's degree of victimization does not determine the truth value of their statements.

For example, in a participatory project on policing, the people who are policed—not the police—are the experts to include.

How does shutting out the voices of those determined to possess power (itself a subjective judgment...) help develop an inclusive and comprehensive understanding of any phenomenon?

The paper ostensibly comes out against 'objectivity' and 'rigor' but really seems to rewrite their definitions such that objectivity = the "essential-ness" of your subjects' knowledge, and rigor = how systematically you follow the participatory method rather than the scientific method.

civilized4• 5 years ago

Submitter's note: I submitted this tweet rather than the original article because it highlights an aspect of the piece that I think should be highlighted, and I would not have been able to highlight that aspect if I had submitted the original article.

The Urban Institute article linked in the tweet is definitely worth reading on its own and makes valid points, but I think we need to reflect on whether it is a good idea to redefine objectivity and rigor in narrow ways that make them "harmful research practices".

Objectivity and rigor are “harmful practices,” says major DC think tank

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