Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 267, Issue 6 120-S136, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society
The word is the deed: the ideology of the research paper in experimental science
P. K. Rangachari
Intestinal Disease Research Programme, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
The research publication epitomizes the practice of contemporary science.
This article emphasizes the underlying ideological basis and comments on
the educational implications, particularly for graduate students. An
attitudinal shift in the acquisitions of knowledge led to Henry Oldenburg's
"invention" of the research article in the 17th century. Science was seen
to be an open, cooperative activity, incremental in nature, with
contributors building on previous work and submitting their work to
scrutiny. Brief papers replaced weighty tomes. Subtle changes over the next
century led to the current format. Ethnographic and textual analyses have
shown that scientific facts are not revealed but constructed and that the
research paper is carefully crafted to serve its twin functions, to inform
and to persuade. Manufactured knowledge must be communicated and certified
to preserve the communal nature of the investigative enterprise.
Publication in a recognized forum fulfills that need. The word IS the deed.
