Keeping it honest: What is Independent Science?
Welcome to the latest in our science series, proudly brought to you by the Seabed Minerals Authority. Our goal is simple—to educate and empower readers by exploring the fundamental science behind deep ocean seabed minerals. Through these articles, we aim to unravel the mysteries of the deep sea and its rich resources, while showcasing the importance of sustainable and responsible exploration. Dive in with us as we journey to the ocean’s depths, discovering how each new finding brings us closer to better understanding our planet and safeguarding its future. Be sure to visit our website for more exciting science articles!
Independent science is ethically conducted science that is independent of non-scientific influences.
The focus here is on ensuring that the research process is unbiased, honest, and transparent. Independent ethical science also follows the scientific method—a structured approach to asking questions, gathering data, and testing hypotheses.
Independent science can only happen through collaboration, with scientists building upon one another’s work. No single researcher or group holds the key to all scientific solutions, so peer-reviewed, community-driven progress is crucial.
I’m confused… is there a problem with science or with the scientists?
Science can often feel complex and hard to grasp. Scientists themselves are sometimes seen as difficult to understand or even a bit “nerdy.” However, is this a fault of science itself, or does it stem from how scientists communicate their findings?
As the scientist Albert Einstein once stated, "Most of the fundamental ideas of science are simple and should be explainable to everyone” [1]..
[1] Well, there is a clue as where one of the problems might lie, in that what he actually said was “It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience.” [1]
A key challenge scientists face is that their approach is to assume their ideas may be wrong—and then work to disprove it. This might sound a little backwards, but it’s how science maintains its objectivity. After all, if a theory can’t be reasonably proven wrong, it might just be right (or at least mostly right). Much like your doctor diagnosing a tricky illness and prescribing medicines, scientists make a hypothesis (a clearly explained, educated, guess), then test and re-test, refining their understanding over time with additional information and insights.
As the respected scientist-Claude Bernard once noted, “The doubter is a true man of science; he doubts only himself and his interpretations, but he believes in science.”
Good Science is Independent Science
Though the scientific method is the best tool we have for understanding the world, it’s not flawless. Science can be influenced by the personal perceptions and biases of scientists themselves. Basically, when researchers see what they expect or want to see, this bias can creep into their interpretations. Sending scientific work out for peer review prevents or reduces this bias as the peer reviewers are independent and critical in their review.
Furthermore, science is often shaped by politics and funding. The research that gets funded is often the research that thrives. This means political and commercial influences can influence scientific work. And when competing interests come into play, even properly unbiased scientific findings can be misused by other stakeholders to support their non-scientific arguments.
Importantly, scientists also often end up in disagreement over important issues—this is a healthy feature of the scientific method, but one that can be confusing to the public when policy and decisions are at stake.
This might be where the term independent science comes into the conversation. Some stakeholders claim to push for science that is independent, and claim that other science is fundamentally untrustworthy, but truly independent scientists are rare. After all the pure definition of an independent scientist is a scientist who does not work for anyone else at all [2], and scientists need to be paid, just like the rest of us. To try and avoid confusion then, some institutions prefer the terms responsible and ethical science [3] or scientific integrity [4].
So… What’s the Solution?
For governments and decision-makers, the goal is to ensure that science used to inform policy is independent and ethical. Here’s how that can be achieved:
Apply the precautionary approach – A method designed to protect us when knowledge is incomplete.
Use leading best practice processes – These are rigorous and recognised ways of conducting science.
Rely on peer review – A standard check used in science to ensure quality and integrity.
By following these practices, we can minimise bias and ensure that scientific findings are reliable. Most importantly, scientists and stakeholders must be clear on how these processes work and what checks will be applied when the results are used for decision-making.
To help in peer review, another important point is that the data used in the scientific work is available for other scientists to check and use. In the Cook Islands all environmental data becomes public, as required by law, and SBMA has a special data repository (called the CSD), that anyone can access through the SBMA website.
Independent ethical science is not dependent on who commissions the work. Independent science is that which can follow the methods described above without overtly influenced bias.
As the ancient philosopher Hippocrates famously said, "There are in fact two things [in technical analysis]—science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance."
References
[1] Did Einstein really say that? Nature Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05004-4
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_scientist
[3] https://new.nsf.gov/policies/responsible-research-conduct
For more insights, stay tuned for our next article as we continue to delve into the fascinating world of seabed minerals and the ethical science that drives it.
Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority