Idee di scienza nella comunità accademica inglese

PIOVANI, J. I.

Sociologia e ricerca sociale

Angeli

Lugar: Milán, Italia; Año: 2002 vol. 23 p. 97 - 116

1121-1148

UK scientists´ opinions on their professional activity are investigated using data collected through questionnaires administered to the staff of City U of London (N = 113). Following a theoretical introduction & a detailed description of the instruments of data collection & analysis, results of multiple factor analysis of informants´ answers to 23 questions in the Likert scale form are presented. Discussion focuses on informants´ perception of their own field of work as science & the differences between representatives of natural vs social sciences with regard to: (1) the characteristics of scientific knowledge (science as a specific form of knowledge & social activity), (2) the social role of science & scientists (the latter´s moral responsibility for the former´s consequences), (3) the ethical aspects of science making, (4) the power & resources of academic institutions, & (5) science vis-a-vis social inequalities. It is found that regardless of their affiliation with a specific field of scientific inquiry, most respondents were moderately critical toward the traditional conception of science as a prestigious professional discipline with a positive social impact. Most respondents expressed concern about the ethics of science & its social consequences. Social scientists were more critical than their colleagues from natural sciences about the social role of science & its functions in politics & society, especially its contribution to the proliferation, maintenance, & justification of social inequalities. This intercohort divergence is attributed to differences in university training & scientific socialization (Abstract de la base de datos Sociological Abstracts).