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Dissertation Information for Sydney John Pierce

NAME:
- Sydney John Pierce

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Sociology

SCHOOL:
- Indiana University (USA) (1988)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: Disciplinary literatures in the social sciences, 1886-1985: Consensus on standards for published research

Abstract: "This study deals with the growth of consensus in three social science disciplines--economics, political science, and sociology--from 1886 through 1985. Disciplinary consensus is held to develop over time through a lengthy process of institutionalization. Though consensus in the social sciences is often described as deficient or lacking, the process of development involved suggests such descriptions may now be outdated. Such views tend to perpetuate themselves for lack of a way of measuring consensus, and it is the purpose of this study to suggest a means of measurement and test it with reference to the social sciences.

Evidence of the existence of consensus is sought in disciplinary agreement on prevailing standards for the presentation of research in disciplinary journals (with these standards measured as mean values for characteristics of published articles--title length, article length, number of footnotes, and number of illustrative devices). The data cover all research articles appearing in the American Journal of Sociology, Political Science Quarterly, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics from their founding through 1985 (a total of 8,634 articles). Annual means and standard deviations are given for characteristics in each journal, and coefficients of variation used to compare levels of consensus in different disciplines and for different years.

Comparison of the results to patterns of consensus formation described in disciplinary histories suggests the methodology successfully measures disciplinary consensus. Consensus in the social sciences is shown to have increased greatly over time. Levels of consensus for academic authors differ little from those for non-academic authors, though non-academics gradually adopt academic standards. Authors using quantitative research methods do show greater consensus than those not using such methods, though differences tend to disappear as their standards also are adopted by others. Widespread shifts to new bodies of theory increase consensus, and the rise of research specialty groups has caused at most minor and temporary dissensus. Of particular interest are findings that levels of consensus in sociology and economics are now roughly equal (and higher than in political science), and that consensus in all three disciplines has been increasing very rapidly since 1960."

MPACT Scores for Sydney John Pierce

A = 0
C = 2
A+C = 2
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:20:29

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