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Political homogeneity can nurture threats to research validity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2015

John R. Chambers
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63108. chambersjr@slu.eduhttp://johnchambersslu.weebly.com/
Barry R. Schlenker
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2250. schlenkr@ufl.eduhttp://www.psych.ufl.edu/~schlenkr/

Abstract

Political homogeneity within a scientific field nurtures threats to the validity of many research conclusions by allowing ideologically compatible values to influence interpretations, by minimizing skepticism, and by creating premature consensus. Although validity threats can crop in any research, the usual corrective activities in science are more likely to be minimized and delayed.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

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