Field Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields

ABSTRACT Fields are the fundamental sociological units of science. Despite their importance, relatively little has been written about their emergence, composition, structure, and function in the scientific enterprise. This essay considers the nature of fields and their important role in maintaining...

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Autores principales:	Arturo Casadevall, Ferric C. Fang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2015
Materias:	Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/08a6bd9afcc84f59a38a41a6c1a6dff3
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:08a6bd9afcc84f59a38a41a6c1a6dff32021-11-15T15:41:31ZField Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields10.1128/mBio.01259-152150-7511https://doaj.org/article/08a6bd9afcc84f59a38a41a6c1a6dff32015-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.01259-15https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT Fields are the fundamental sociological units of science. Despite their importance, relatively little has been written about their emergence, composition, structure, and function in the scientific enterprise. This essay considers the nature of fields and their important role in maintaining information and providing normative standards for scientific work. We suggest that fields arise naturally as a consequence of increasing information and scientific specialization. New fields tend to emerge as research communities grow, which may reflect biologically determined optima for the size of human groups. The benefits of fields include the organization of scientists with similar interests into communities that collectively define the next important problems to pursue. In the discipline of microbiology, fields are often organized on the basis of phylogenetic differences between microorganisms being studied. Although fields are essential to the proper functioning of science, their emergence can restrict access by outsiders and sustain dogmas that hinder progress. We suggest mechanisms to improve the functioning of scientific fields and to promote interdisciplinary interaction between fields.Arturo CasadevallFerric C. FangAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 6, Iss 5 (2015)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Microbiology QR1-502 Arturo Casadevall Ferric C. Fang Field Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields
description	ABSTRACT Fields are the fundamental sociological units of science. Despite their importance, relatively little has been written about their emergence, composition, structure, and function in the scientific enterprise. This essay considers the nature of fields and their important role in maintaining information and providing normative standards for scientific work. We suggest that fields arise naturally as a consequence of increasing information and scientific specialization. New fields tend to emerge as research communities grow, which may reflect biologically determined optima for the size of human groups. The benefits of fields include the organization of scientists with similar interests into communities that collectively define the next important problems to pursue. In the discipline of microbiology, fields are often organized on the basis of phylogenetic differences between microorganisms being studied. Although fields are essential to the proper functioning of science, their emergence can restrict access by outsiders and sustain dogmas that hinder progress. We suggest mechanisms to improve the functioning of scientific fields and to promote interdisciplinary interaction between fields.
format	article
author	Arturo Casadevall Ferric C. Fang
author_facet	Arturo Casadevall Ferric C. Fang
author_sort	Arturo Casadevall
title	Field Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields
title_short	Field Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields
title_full	Field Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields
title_fullStr	Field Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields
title_full_unstemmed	Field Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields
title_sort	field science—the nature and utility of scientific fields
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2015
url	https://doaj.org/article/08a6bd9afcc84f59a38a41a6c1a6dff3
work_keys_str_mv	AT arturocasadevall fieldsciencethenatureandutilityofscientificfields AT ferriccfang fieldsciencethenatureandutilityofscientificfields
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Field Science—the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields

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