Radcliffe scholar probes key moments in scientific reproducibility crisis
Nicole C. Nelson, Radcliffe’s Katherine Hampson Bessell Fellow, examines scientists’ assumptions about the natural world and how they play into their research. This year at Radcliffe, the assistant professor of science and technology studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will delve into the scientific reproducibility crisis, a recent phenomenon in which subsequent scientific investigation has found many supposedly stable findings to be difficult to replicate. Nelson will give a talk about her research titled “The Truth Wears Off? The Reproducibility Crisis in Historical Perspective,” on Feb. 6 as part of the Radcliffe Institute’s Fellows’ Presentation Series. Q&A Nicole C. Nelson RADCLIFFE: What is the reproducibility crisis, and how did you become interested in it? NELSON: The reproducibility crisis is a recent phenomenon wherein scientists have found themselves unable to reproduce results that they thought were well-established. A study published in 2012 by the pharmaceutical company Amgen reported that its in-house scientists could replicate findings from...