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This <b>Encyclopedia of [[Scientonomy]]</b> pursues three major goals:
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The purpose of this encyclopedia is to trace, document, and promote the development of [[Scientonomy|scientonomy]], the newly emerging empirical science of scientific change. It pursues three major goals:
 
   
 
   
1. Outline with encyclopedic rigor <b>the current state of our knowledge</b> concerning the mechanism of [[Scientific Change|scientific change]], including changes in both [[Theory|theories]] and [[Method|methods]] of their evaluation.
+
# Outline with encyclopedic rigor ''the current state'' of the views of the scientonomy community concerning the mechanism of scientific change, including changes in both [[Theory|theories]] and [[Method|methods]] of their evaluation.
 +
# Trace and document ''all changes'' in the field of [[Scientonomy|scientonomy]], as they are proposed and [[Theory Acceptance|accepted]] by the scientonomy community.
 +
# List and outline ''the open questions'' concerning the theory and the process of scientific change and thus assist with future research in the field.
  
2. Trace and document <b> all changes</b> in the field of [[Scientonomy|scientonomy]], as they are proposed and [[Theory Acceptance|accepted]] by the scientonomic community.
+
The encyclopedia was established in 2016 by the [[Community:Scientonomy|scientonomy community]]. Its current editors in-chief are [[Paul Patton]] and [[Hakob Barseghyan]].  
  
3. List and outline <b>the open questions</b> concerning the process of scientific change and thus assist with future research in the field.
+
==Workflow==
 +
This encyclopedia is one of the key facilitators of the scientonomic workflow. The key stages of the workflow are:
  
== Semantic Map ==
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{{#evt:
This encyclopedia uses the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_wiki Semantic approach]]: the author's don't write their articles in a purely textual fashion (as is the case in most encyclopedias), but are asked to enter the data in a structured, semantically meaningful way. Thus, once entered on any page, the information is stored in the database of this encyclopedia and is then automatically retrieved on any other relevant page. For instance, a ''theory's'' page allows the authors to enter the dates when the theory was accepted by different communities. Once this acceptance record is entered, it is stored in the database and is then shown automatically on the respective ''topic's'' page. Consider, for instance, the history section of the topic [[Mechanism of Method Employment]]; this section is generated automatically based on the individual acceptance records of the respective theories that attempt to answer the question of method employment, such as [[The Third Law (Barseghyan-2015)]] or [[The Third Law (Sebastien-2016)]]. This makes it possible to trace the acceptance history of any theory or topic, keep track of the suggested modifications, etc.
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 +
|urlargs=start=35
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|description=Gregory Rupik outlines the scientonomic workflow
 +
|container=frame
 +
}}
  
This approach applies to all the categories of this encyclopedia:
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{{#evt:
 +
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 +
|id=P5nrMUVxzEE
 +
|alignment=right
 +
|description=Hakob Barseghyan presents the workflow in action
 +
|container=frame
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
* '''Pose Questions:''' The goal of this stage is to scrutinize the current state of the scientonomic theory and our knowledge of scientific change and identify as many open questions as possible. The annual [[Scientonomy Seminar|seminar on scientonomy]] hosted by the University of Toronto's [http://hps.utoronto.ca/ Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology] is currently the main venue facilitating this stage of the workflow. 
 +
* '''Suggest Modifications:''' The goal of this stage is to advance our knowledge of scientific change by proposing modifications to our current body of knowledge. These suggested modifications are published and properly documented. These modifications are currently published in the [[Journal of Scientonomy]] but, in principle, they can be published in any journal which makes use of the scientonomic mechanism of modifications. Once a modification is published, this encyclopedia documents that [[:Category:Modification|suggestions]] and invites experts to review it.
 +
* '''Evaluate Modifications:''' The goal of this stage is to assess the suggested modifications and decide which of them are acceptable and which are not. This is done by [[Community:Scientonomy|the community of scientonomists]] on the respective discussion pages of this encyclopedia. If a consensus emerges, the fate of the modification is documented. If a modification causes disagreement among scientonomists, it becomes a topic of discussion during [[Scientonomy Workshop|scientonomic workshops]], which aim at bridging the gaps between opposing parties and arriving at consensus. 
 +
* '''Document Changes:''' The goal of this stage is to document all the changes in our communal body of knowledge. If a modification is considered acceptable by the community, then the respective articles of this encyclopedia are modified to reflect that change. If a modification is considered unacceptable, then the respective verdict is documented for that modification.
 +
 
 +
The primary role of this encyclopedia in the scientonomic workflow is to document the current state of scientonomic knowledge, trace all suggested modifications, and list open questions.     
 +
 
 +
Here is an outline of the main stages of the scientonomic workflow:
 +
 +
<imagemap>
 +
Image:Scientonomy Workflow with Captions.png|630px|center
 +
circle 629 188 150 [[Journal of Scientonomy]]
 +
circle 335 482 150 [[Scientonomy Seminar]]
 +
circle 923 482 150 [[Scientonomy Workshop]]
 +
desc none
 +
</imagemap>
 +
 
 +
This workflow gives researchers a simple way of knowing where the community stands on different topics, i.e. what theories it currently accepts, what open questions it tries to answer, what modifications have been proposed and how they have been assessed. It ensures that our communal knowledge is advanced in a ''piecemeal'' and ''transparent'' fashion:
 +
* '''Piecemeal''': modifications to the communal mosaic are suggested one by one, which allows for a sober critical evaluation of these suggestions by the community.
 +
* '''Transparent''': suggested modifications and their evaluations are properly documented, so that there is no mystery as to whether, when, or why a certain modification was or wasn't accepted.
 +
 
 +
The workflow is ''scalable'', as it can - in principle - be implemented in other fields of digital humanities and beyond.
 +
 
 +
==Semantic Approach==
 +
This encyclopedia uses the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_wiki semantic approach] implemented via [https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Introduction_to_Semantic_MediaWiki Semantic MediaWiki] framework: the authors don't write their articles in a purely ''textual'' fashion (as is the case in most encyclopedias), but are asked to enter the relevant ''data'' in a structured, semantically meaningful way. Thus, once entered in specially designed forms, the data is stored in the database of this encyclopedia and is then automatically retrieved on any other relevant page.
 +
 
 +
For instance, a ''theory's'' page allows the authors to enter the dates when the theory was accepted by different communities. Once this acceptance record is entered, it is stored in the database and is then shown automatically on the respective ''topic's'' page. Consider, for instance, the history section of the topic [[Mechanism of Method Employment]]; this section is generated automatically based on the individual acceptance records of the respective theories that attempt to answer the question of method employment, such as [[The Third Law (Barseghyan-2015)]] or [[The Third Law (Sebastien-2016)]]. This makes it possible to trace the acceptance history of any theory or topic, keep track of the suggested modifications, etc.
 +
 
 +
This approach applies to all the ''categories'' of this encyclopedia:
 
* [[:Category:Community|Community]]: This category lists all the communities recorded in this encyclopedia.  
 
* [[:Category:Community|Community]]: This category lists all the communities recorded in this encyclopedia.  
 
* [[:Category:Topic|Topic]]: These are all the questions that a community can accept as legitimate topics for research. The topics can be [[:Category:Definitional Topic|definitional]], [[:Category:Descriptive Topic|descriptive]], or [[:Category:Normative Topic|normative]].  
 
* [[:Category:Topic|Topic]]: These are all the questions that a community can accept as legitimate topics for research. The topics can be [[:Category:Definitional Topic|definitional]], [[:Category:Descriptive Topic|descriptive]], or [[:Category:Normative Topic|normative]].  
 
* [[:Category:Theory|Theory]]: This category includes all the individual propositions that attempt to define, describe, or prescribe something. Theories are attempts to answer a certain question (topic); thus, theories also come in three types: [[:Category:Definition|definitions]], [[:Category:Descriptive Theory|descriptive theories]], and [[:Category:Normative Theory|normative theories]].
 
* [[:Category:Theory|Theory]]: This category includes all the individual propositions that attempt to define, describe, or prescribe something. Theories are attempts to answer a certain question (topic); thus, theories also come in three types: [[:Category:Definition|definitions]], [[:Category:Descriptive Theory|descriptive theories]], and [[:Category:Normative Theory|normative theories]].
* [[:Category:Modification|Modification]]: Suggested modifications are attempts to convince a community to change its views on a certain topic, i.e. to accept and/or reject a theory. ''See the section on modifications below for more details.''
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* [[:Category:Modification|Modification]]: Suggested modifications are attempts to convince a community to change its views on a certain topic, i.e. to accept and/or reject a theory.
  
 +
==Semantic Map==
 
Here is the basic semantic map of this encyclopedia. Click on a category, to go to the respective page:
 
Here is the basic semantic map of this encyclopedia. Click on a category, to go to the respective page:
 +
 +
<imagemap>
 +
Image:Wiki Semantic Map.png|789px|center
 +
circle 738 640 150 [[:Category:Community|Community]]
 +
circle 482 830 150 [[:Category:Topic|Topic]]
 +
circle 993 830 150 [[:Category:Theory|Theory]]
 +
circle 738 330 150 [[:Category:Modification|Modification]]
 +
desc none
 +
</imagemap>
  
 +
 +
The encyclopedia also stores data on related [[:Category:Bibliographic Record|bibliographic records]] and [[:Category:Author|authors]]:
  
 
<imagemap>
 
<imagemap>
Image:Wiki Semantic Map.png|789px|center
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Image:Wiki Semantic Map Author Bibliographic Record.png|138px|center
 +
circle 137 77 136 [[:Category:Author|Author]]
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circle 137 337 136 [[:Category:Bibliographic Record|Bibliographic Record]]
 +
desc none
 
</imagemap>
 
</imagemap>
 +
You can find instructions about how to enter bibliographical information in the [[:Guidelines:Authors|guidelines for authors]] below.
  
== How to Become an Author? ==
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== How to Write Articles ==
If you wish to become an author and contribute to the encyclopedia, please email the co-editors in chief [mailto:hakob.barseghyan@utoronto.ca Hakob Barseghyan], [mailto:nicholas.overgaard@mail.utoronto.ca Nicholas Overgaard] or [mailto:paul.patton@mail.utoronto.ca Paul Patton].
+
The first question you need to ask as an author: what kind of information are you going to enter? If you wish to create a completely new page, then what category does it belong to?
 +
=== Topics ===
 +
Is it a [[:Category:Topic|topic]] page? I.e. is it a page on a certain question that different theories are attempting to answer? Here are some typical topic pages: [[Theory]], [[Mechanism of Theory Acceptance]], [[Scope of Scientonomy]]. If your page is a topic page, then [[:Category:Topic|check here]].
 +
 
 +
=== Theories ===
 +
Is it a [[:Category:Theory|theory]] page? I.e. is it a page on an individual attempt to answer a certain question? Here are some typical theory pages: [[The Second Law (Barseghyan-2015)]], [[The Third Law (Sebastien-2016)]], [[Authority Delegation (Overgaard-Loiselle-2016)]]. If so, go to [[:Category:Topic|this page]] to add a new theory.
 +
=== Suggested Modifications ===
 +
Is it a [[:Category:Modification|suggested modification]] page? These pages are usually added by the editors of this encyclopedia who trace all the scientific journals which make use of the scientonomic model of modifications and document those modifications in this encyclopedia. If you are an editor, then go to your ''community'' page first and add the modification from there. All communities are [[:Category:Community|listed here]].
 +
=== Communities ===
 +
Is it a [[:Category:Community|community]] page? First, try to locate the community in [[:Category:Community|this list]]. If the community is not in the system, go ahead and add it.
 +
=== Bibliographic Records ===
 +
Is it a [[:Category:Bibliographic Record|bibliographic record]], such as a book, an article, or a collection? Then go to [[:Category:Bibliographic Record|this page]] to add a new record.
 +
=== Authors ===
 +
Is it an [[:Category:Author|author]]? Authors of all bibliographic resources registered in this encyclopedia are to be entered separately [[:Category:Author|here]].
 +
 
 +
If you wish to change something on an already existing page, locate that page and click on the ''Edit'' tab. A respective form will appear and, if you have the necessary credentials to modify pages of that category, you will be able to alter the data in respective boxes.
 +
 
 +
== How to Become an Author ==
 +
If you have published in the [[Journal of Scientonomy]] or participated in a [[Scientonomy Seminar|scientonomy seminar]] or [[Scientonomy Workshop|scientonomy workshop]], most likely an account has already been created for you. If you'd like to contribute but still don't have an account, please [mailto:paul.patton@mail.utoronto.ca email us] and we will create an account for you.
 +
 
 +
If you have any questions, please feel free to email the co-editors in chief [mailto:hakob.barseghyan@utoronto.ca Hakob Barseghyan] or [mailto:paul.patton@mail.utoronto.ca Paul Patton].
  
 
== Guidelines ==
 
== Guidelines ==
Line 32: Line 113:
 
[[Guidelines:Readers|Guidelines for Readers]]
 
[[Guidelines:Readers|Guidelines for Readers]]
  
== Sample Articles ==
+
[[Completion Rates]]
 
 
[[Scientific Mosaic]]
 
  
 
== Open Questions ==
 
== Open Questions ==
  
 
[[List of Open Questions]]
 
[[List of Open Questions]]

Revision as of 15:33, 20 October 2021

The purpose of this encyclopedia is to trace, document, and promote the development of scientonomy, the newly emerging empirical science of scientific change. It pursues three major goals:

  1. Outline with encyclopedic rigor the current state of the views of the scientonomy community concerning the mechanism of scientific change, including changes in both theories and methods of their evaluation.
  2. Trace and document all changes in the field of scientonomy, as they are proposed and accepted by the scientonomy community.
  3. List and outline the open questions concerning the theory and the process of scientific change and thus assist with future research in the field.

The encyclopedia was established in 2016 by the scientonomy community. Its current editors in-chief are Paul Patton and Hakob Barseghyan.

Workflow

This encyclopedia is one of the key facilitators of the scientonomic workflow. The key stages of the workflow are:

Gregory Rupik outlines the scientonomic workflow
Hakob Barseghyan presents the workflow in action
  • Pose Questions: The goal of this stage is to scrutinize the current state of the scientonomic theory and our knowledge of scientific change and identify as many open questions as possible. The annual seminar on scientonomy hosted by the University of Toronto's Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology is currently the main venue facilitating this stage of the workflow.
  • Suggest Modifications: The goal of this stage is to advance our knowledge of scientific change by proposing modifications to our current body of knowledge. These suggested modifications are published and properly documented. These modifications are currently published in the Journal of Scientonomy but, in principle, they can be published in any journal which makes use of the scientonomic mechanism of modifications. Once a modification is published, this encyclopedia documents that suggestions and invites experts to review it.
  • Evaluate Modifications: The goal of this stage is to assess the suggested modifications and decide which of them are acceptable and which are not. This is done by the community of scientonomists on the respective discussion pages of this encyclopedia. If a consensus emerges, the fate of the modification is documented. If a modification causes disagreement among scientonomists, it becomes a topic of discussion during scientonomic workshops, which aim at bridging the gaps between opposing parties and arriving at consensus.
  • Document Changes: The goal of this stage is to document all the changes in our communal body of knowledge. If a modification is considered acceptable by the community, then the respective articles of this encyclopedia are modified to reflect that change. If a modification is considered unacceptable, then the respective verdict is documented for that modification.

The primary role of this encyclopedia in the scientonomic workflow is to document the current state of scientonomic knowledge, trace all suggested modifications, and list open questions.

Here is an outline of the main stages of the scientonomic workflow:

Journal of ScientonomyScientonomy SeminarScientonomy WorkshopScientonomy Workflow with Captions.png

This workflow gives researchers a simple way of knowing where the community stands on different topics, i.e. what theories it currently accepts, what open questions it tries to answer, what modifications have been proposed and how they have been assessed. It ensures that our communal knowledge is advanced in a piecemeal and transparent fashion:

  • Piecemeal: modifications to the communal mosaic are suggested one by one, which allows for a sober critical evaluation of these suggestions by the community.
  • Transparent: suggested modifications and their evaluations are properly documented, so that there is no mystery as to whether, when, or why a certain modification was or wasn't accepted.

The workflow is scalable, as it can - in principle - be implemented in other fields of digital humanities and beyond.

Semantic Approach

This encyclopedia uses the semantic approach implemented via Semantic MediaWiki framework: the authors don't write their articles in a purely textual fashion (as is the case in most encyclopedias), but are asked to enter the relevant data in a structured, semantically meaningful way. Thus, once entered in specially designed forms, the data is stored in the database of this encyclopedia and is then automatically retrieved on any other relevant page.

For instance, a theory's page allows the authors to enter the dates when the theory was accepted by different communities. Once this acceptance record is entered, it is stored in the database and is then shown automatically on the respective topic's page. Consider, for instance, the history section of the topic Mechanism of Method Employment; this section is generated automatically based on the individual acceptance records of the respective theories that attempt to answer the question of method employment, such as The Third Law (Barseghyan-2015) or The Third Law (Sebastien-2016). This makes it possible to trace the acceptance history of any theory or topic, keep track of the suggested modifications, etc.

This approach applies to all the categories of this encyclopedia:

  • Community: This category lists all the communities recorded in this encyclopedia.
  • Topic: These are all the questions that a community can accept as legitimate topics for research. The topics can be definitional, descriptive, or normative.
  • Theory: This category includes all the individual propositions that attempt to define, describe, or prescribe something. Theories are attempts to answer a certain question (topic); thus, theories also come in three types: definitions, descriptive theories, and normative theories.
  • Modification: Suggested modifications are attempts to convince a community to change its views on a certain topic, i.e. to accept and/or reject a theory.

Semantic Map

Here is the basic semantic map of this encyclopedia. Click on a category, to go to the respective page:

CommunityTopicTheoryModificationWiki Semantic Map.png


The encyclopedia also stores data on related bibliographic records and authors:

AuthorBibliographic RecordWiki Semantic Map Author Bibliographic Record.png

You can find instructions about how to enter bibliographical information in the guidelines for authors below.

How to Write Articles

The first question you need to ask as an author: what kind of information are you going to enter? If you wish to create a completely new page, then what category does it belong to?

Topics

Is it a topic page? I.e. is it a page on a certain question that different theories are attempting to answer? Here are some typical topic pages: Theory, Mechanism of Theory Acceptance, Scope of Scientonomy. If your page is a topic page, then check here.

Theories

Is it a theory page? I.e. is it a page on an individual attempt to answer a certain question? Here are some typical theory pages: The Second Law (Barseghyan-2015), The Third Law (Sebastien-2016), Authority Delegation (Overgaard-Loiselle-2016). If so, go to this page to add a new theory.

Suggested Modifications

Is it a suggested modification page? These pages are usually added by the editors of this encyclopedia who trace all the scientific journals which make use of the scientonomic model of modifications and document those modifications in this encyclopedia. If you are an editor, then go to your community page first and add the modification from there. All communities are listed here.

Communities

Is it a community page? First, try to locate the community in this list. If the community is not in the system, go ahead and add it.

Bibliographic Records

Is it a bibliographic record, such as a book, an article, or a collection? Then go to this page to add a new record.

Authors

Is it an author? Authors of all bibliographic resources registered in this encyclopedia are to be entered separately here.

If you wish to change something on an already existing page, locate that page and click on the Edit tab. A respective form will appear and, if you have the necessary credentials to modify pages of that category, you will be able to alter the data in respective boxes.

How to Become an Author

If you have published in the Journal of Scientonomy or participated in a scientonomy seminar or scientonomy workshop, most likely an account has already been created for you. If you'd like to contribute but still don't have an account, please email us and we will create an account for you.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email the co-editors in chief Hakob Barseghyan or Paul Patton.

Guidelines

Guidelines for Authors

Guidelines for Readers

Completion Rates

Open Questions

List of Open Questions

References

  1. ^  Shaw, Jamie and Barseghyan, Hakob. (2019) Problems and Prospects with the Scientonomic Workflow. Scientonomy 3, 1-14. Retrieved from https://scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/33509.