National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope
Encyclopedia
National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope is the title of a 73-page report released by US Senator Tom Coburn
on May 26, 2011. The report received significant press coverage in mainstream press,
National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope is the title of a 73-page report released by US Senator Tom Coburn
on May 26, 2011. The report received significant press coverage in mainstream press,
National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope is the title of a 73-page report released by US Senator Tom Coburn
on May 26, 2011. The report received significant press coverage in mainstream press, and generated significant controversy in academia
, due to its accusations about various research projects, and its critical view of the social sciences
.
National Science Foundation
's (NSF) budget of about $7 billion represents about 0.5% of the projected 2011 federal deficit.
(NSF), Senator Coburn argued that poor management and practices at NSF have resulted in losses of over $1.2 billion due to "waste, fraud, duplication and mismanagement", with a further $1.7 billion in unspent funds. The report fingered several studies that exemplify "waste and duplication"; those cited in the press release included: "$80,000 study on why the same teams always dominate March Madness
", "$315,000 study suggesting playing FarmVille
on Facebook
helps adults develop and maintain relationships;" "$1 million for an analysis of how quickly parents respond to trendy baby names;" "$50,000 to produce and publicize amateur songs about science, including a rap called “Money 4 Drugz,” and a misleading song titled “Biogas is a Gas, Gas, Gas”;" "$2 million to figure out that people who often post pictures on the internet from the same location at the same time are usually friends;" and "$581,000 on whether online dating site users are racist." Ineffective management examples, cited in report, included "Hundreds of millions of dollars lost to ineffective contracting"; "$1.7 billion in unspent funds sitting in expired, undisbursed grant accounts;" "At least $3 million in excessive travel funds"; "A lack of accountability or program metrics to evaluate expenditures" and "Inappropriate staff behavior including porn
surfing and Jello wrestling and skinny-dipping at NSF-operated facilities in Antarctica".
The report has put forward several recommendations, such as clarifying and establishing guidelines on what is meant by "transformative science", measuring success and ensuring accountability, improving grant accountability, reducing duplication, consolidation of the Directorate for Education & Human Resources and most controversially, elimination of the Social, Behavioral, and Economics Directorate (which receives a total of $200-300 million per year). The press release accompanying the report noted that "The social sciences
should not be the focus of our premier basic scientific research agency". Coburn questioned whether "these social sciences represent obvious national priorities that deserve a cut of the same pie" as the natural sciences.
Further controversy arose from allegations that many studies highlighted by the report as pointless or wasteful, and made fun of as "silly", are arguably "serious science". Commentators have noted that attacks on "silly science" have a long tradition during economic downturns, with notable past examples including the Golden Fleece Awards established by Senator William Proxmire
in the 1970s. The report has been criticized by several professional associations of academics, such as the American Political Science Association
and the Association for Psychological Science
. Academics allege that the report had inaccurate descriptions of their research, often misinterpreting them, or lacking the understanding of the underlying goals. Others described it as "flat-out inaccurate". Professor John Hibbing noted, it is "legitimate to ask what kind of scientific research is important and what isn't", but a nonscientific report by a politician may not be the best way to achieve this goal.
The report has also been criticized for undervaluing social sciences
(such as economics
, political science
, sociology
, psychology
, linguistics
and others). That research includes, for example, collecting demographic
statistics
and other data on the US population, which are used in public policy
and decision making.
NSF has also pointed out that the biggest saving that the report claims to see, based on unused money, is based on a "misreading of federal statues", or an accounting misunderstanding. According to NSF, this is money obligated for multiyear grants.
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. , is an American politician, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills...
on May 26, 2011. The report received significant press coverage in mainstream press,
National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope is the title of a 73-page report released by US Senator Tom Coburn
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. , is an American politician, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills...
on May 26, 2011. The report received significant press coverage in mainstream press,
National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope is the title of a 73-page report released by US Senator Tom Coburn
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. , is an American politician, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills...
on May 26, 2011. The report received significant press coverage in mainstream press, and generated significant controversy in academia
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
, due to its accusations about various research projects, and its critical view of the social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
.
National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
's (NSF) budget of about $7 billion represents about 0.5% of the projected 2011 federal deficit.
The report
In this report, highly critical of the National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(NSF), Senator Coburn argued that poor management and practices at NSF have resulted in losses of over $1.2 billion due to "waste, fraud, duplication and mismanagement", with a further $1.7 billion in unspent funds. The report fingered several studies that exemplify "waste and duplication"; those cited in the press release included: "$80,000 study on why the same teams always dominate March Madness
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
", "$315,000 study suggesting playing FarmVille
FarmVille
FarmVille is a farming simulation social network game developed by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to Happy Farm, Farm Town,, and older games such as the Harvest Moon series...
on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
helps adults develop and maintain relationships;" "$1 million for an analysis of how quickly parents respond to trendy baby names;" "$50,000 to produce and publicize amateur songs about science, including a rap called “Money 4 Drugz,” and a misleading song titled “Biogas is a Gas, Gas, Gas”;" "$2 million to figure out that people who often post pictures on the internet from the same location at the same time are usually friends;" and "$581,000 on whether online dating site users are racist." Ineffective management examples, cited in report, included "Hundreds of millions of dollars lost to ineffective contracting"; "$1.7 billion in unspent funds sitting in expired, undisbursed grant accounts;" "At least $3 million in excessive travel funds"; "A lack of accountability or program metrics to evaluate expenditures" and "Inappropriate staff behavior including porn
PORN
Porn is a common short form for pornography. It may also refer to:* Progressive outer retinal necrosis, a disease of the retina* PORN, a French industrial rock band...
surfing and Jello wrestling and skinny-dipping at NSF-operated facilities in Antarctica".
The report has put forward several recommendations, such as clarifying and establishing guidelines on what is meant by "transformative science", measuring success and ensuring accountability, improving grant accountability, reducing duplication, consolidation of the Directorate for Education & Human Resources and most controversially, elimination of the Social, Behavioral, and Economics Directorate (which receives a total of $200-300 million per year). The press release accompanying the report noted that "The social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
should not be the focus of our premier basic scientific research agency". Coburn questioned whether "these social sciences represent obvious national priorities that deserve a cut of the same pie" as the natural sciences.
Reception and critique
NSF has replied to the criticism of the reports, saying that it "has been diligent about addressing concerns from members of Congress about workforce and grant management issues, and NSF's excellent record of tracking down waste and prosecuting wrongdoing is apparent" from the report itself (indeed, even some of the cases featured in the press release, like the inappropriate actions in the Antarctica facility, were internally reviewed and dealt with within the NSF).Further controversy arose from allegations that many studies highlighted by the report as pointless or wasteful, and made fun of as "silly", are arguably "serious science". Commentators have noted that attacks on "silly science" have a long tradition during economic downturns, with notable past examples including the Golden Fleece Awards established by Senator William Proxmire
William Proxmire
Edward William Proxmire was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989.-Personal life:...
in the 1970s. The report has been criticized by several professional associations of academics, such as the American Political Science Association
American Political Science Association
The American Political Science Association is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903, it publishes three academic journals...
and the Association for Psychological Science
Association for Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science , previously the American Psychological Society, is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of...
. Academics allege that the report had inaccurate descriptions of their research, often misinterpreting them, or lacking the understanding of the underlying goals. Others described it as "flat-out inaccurate". Professor John Hibbing noted, it is "legitimate to ask what kind of scientific research is important and what isn't", but a nonscientific report by a politician may not be the best way to achieve this goal.
The report has also been criticized for undervaluing social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
(such as economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and others). That research includes, for example, collecting demographic
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
and other data on the US population, which are used in public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
and decision making.
NSF has also pointed out that the biggest saving that the report claims to see, based on unused money, is based on a "misreading of federal statues", or an accounting misunderstanding. According to NSF, this is money obligated for multiyear grants.