Scientific Merit Research Articles

Male applicants are more likely to be awarded fellowships than female applicants: A case study of a Japanese national funding agency.

Scientific grant applications are subjected to scholarly peer review. Studies show that the success rates of grant applications are often higher for male than for female applicants, suggesting that gender bias is common in peer review. However, these findings mostly come from studies in Europe, North America and Australia. Here we report the analyses of gender-specific success rates of applications to the fellowships offered by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Because we analyze the observational data (i.e., not experimental), our aim here is to describe the possible gender gaps in the success rates, rather than the examination of gender bias per se. Results show that the success rates are consistently higher for male applicants than for female applicants among five different fellowship categories. The gender gaps in the success rates varied significantly between research fields in some Fellowship categories. Furthermore, in some fellowship categories, the gender gaps were significantly associated with the representation of female applicants (both positive and negative correlations were found). Though the causes of the gender gaps are unknown, unintentional gender bias during the review process is suggested. Pre-application gender gaps may also be contributing to the gender gaps in success rates. At least some of the observed gender gaps were relatively small, which may be partly explicable by the designs of the review process. However, gender gaps or biases acting prior to the application, such as self-selection bias, may have reduced the superficial gender gaps in the success rates. Further investigations that control for the effects of covariates (e.g., scientific merits of each applicant, which were not accessible to us) and those of other funding agencies, especially of non-Western countries, are warranted.

On the empirical validity of cumulative prospect theory: A response to the Wakker commentaries

In Bernheim and Sprenger (2020) and Bernheim, Royer, and Sprenger (2022), we devised and implemented a new test of rank-dependent probability weighting for Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT). This paper responds to critical commentary by Wakker (2023), which recapitulates both Abdellaoui, Li, Wakker, and Wu (2020) and Wakker (2022a). We demonstrate that the Wakker commentaries proceed from fundamental misconceptions concerning the structure of our tests, rely on unsubstantiated assertions that are falsified by evidence and robustness analyses they ignore, misrepresent our positions, and involve a host of other conceptual and methodological errors. In short, the critique lacks scientific merit.

Are Body Mass Index (BMI) Cutoffs Creating Racial, Ethnic, Gender, or Age Disparities in Patient Eligibility for Total Ankle Arthroplasty?

Category: Ankle; Other Introduction/Purpose: The rising prevalence of obesity may drastically affect arthroplasty eligibility as Body Mass Index (BMI) remains a commonly used screening criterion. As obesity disproportionately affects Black adults and women, using such a criterion without scientific merit may lead to inequitable access to care. Particularly in total ankle arthroplasty – where weight has been previously attributed to aseptic implant failure – close examination of screening criteria is imperative. The purpose of this study was to evaluate for disparities in patient eligibility for total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) based on race, ethnicity, gender, and age by applying commonly used BMI cutoffs to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS- NSQIP) database. Methods: Patients in the ACS-NSQIP database who underwent TAA from 2011- 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. BMI cutoffs of < 35, < 40, < 45, and < 50 were applied to the cohort to model the rate of surgical eligibility for TAA. Patients were deemed eligible for surgery if their BMI was less than each modeled BMI cutoff and ineligible if their BMI was equal to or greater than the cutoff. The relative eligibility rate, which was defined as the rate of eligibility minus the rate of ineligibility, was examined for each BMI cutoff. The cohorts were then stratified by race, ethnicity, gender, and age. Independent T-tests, Chi-squared tests, and Fisher’s exact tests were performed to compare differences at an α = 0.05. Results: 65.1% of all TAA patients were included after applying the exclusion criteria. Black patients had disproportionately lower rates of eligibility at the most stringent BMI cutoff of < 35kg/m² (p=0.004). Hispanic patients had generally lower rates of eligibility across all BMI cutoffs. In contrast, Asian American and Pacific Islander patients had higher rates of eligibility at the BMI cutoffs of < 35kg/m² (p=0.033) and < 40kg/m² (p=0.039), and White non-Hispanic patients had higher rates of eligibility across all BMI cutoffs. Females had lower eligibility rates across all BMI cutoffs. Ineligible patients were also younger compared to eligible patients across all BMI cutoffs. Conclusion: Stringent BMI cutoffs may disproportionately disqualify Black, female, and younger patients from receiving total ankle arthroplasty. The data suggests that current eligibility criteria may exacerbate disparity in access to TAA for historically vulnerable populations. While eligibility criteria exist to protect patients from interventions that put them at unacceptable risk, these criteria are not uniformly distributed across populations. Given these data and the rising obesity epidemic, additional highly powered studies are needed to determine the safety of TAA in patients with BMI 35-40 to ensure at-risk populations are not disproportionately excluded from mobility-improving surgery.

ПОВЕДЕНЧЕСКАЯ ЭКОНОМИКА: ИНТЕГРАЦИЯ И СИНЕРГИЯ ЭКОНОМИКИ И ПСИХОЛОГИИ

The article analyzes the scientific merits of behavioral economics, as one of the most promising and dynamically developing trends in modern science that is of great interest to researchers. Particular attention in the article is paid to the analysis of the scientific conclusions of Nobel laureate R. Thaler who is considered to be the most authoritative scientist in the field of behavioral economics. Scientific integration with psychology has enriched the methodology of economic research with many new scientific approaches, including experiment, which until the beginning of the 21st century was generally considered almost unacceptable in economic practice due to the irreversibility and unpredictability of its consequences. However, the use of experiment to study the psychological characteristics of people's behavior helped to understand the logic of many economic processes better, making them more predictable and controllable. The article concludes that the scientific developments of representatives of behavioral economics are important both for economic theory and for economic practice. They are implemented in predicting the dynamics of various markets, in optimizing socio-economic decisions based on the policy of ‘libertarian paternalism’. With their help, the widely used hyperbolic discounting model was developed, and another new branch of economics emerged — behavioral finance.

Biopolymer Composites Material Extrusion and their Applications: A Review

Advances in additive manufacturing are leading to the emergence of new printable applications, including sensors for healthcare monitoring and bioengineering scaffolds. Research is driven by designing new printable inks including composites that can be extruded and respond to changes in their surroundings and patterning these materials on the microscale. In modern printing techniques, an emerging modified three‐dimensional (3D) printing method: materials extrusion has been utilized for customizable electronics because of its high compatibility with various inks, low cost, and versatility to different levels of complexity. Material extrusion enables not only the printing of 2D and 3D architecture of the electrode structure but also the bioprinting of structures such as conductive scaffolds. In this review, fundamental insights into rational printable ink formulation including colloidal suspensions, gels, polymer melts, composites, printing criteria, processes, and applications toward printable electronics using composites composed of nanomaterials and biopolymers are fully discussed. New manufacturing insights on how to further improve the resolution and simplify the printing process of responsive materials are discussed, which have not been seen in currently published representative reviews. It is envisioned that this review provides high scientific merits to readers working in wearable devices, biological smart materials, and flexible nanoelectronics.

Rationale for routine preoperative liver function tests before elective cholecystectomy

Preoperative work-up before elective cholecystectomy often undergoes a range of routine investigations that includes liver function tests (LFTs). There is fear of concomitant common bile duct stones (CBDs) in patients with negative ultrasonography (USG) findings, i.e. with no dilatation of bile ducts or presence of stones in it or clinical features of hepatitis or jaundice. Studies show that clinical practice of preoperative workup of routine liver function tests for every elective cholecystectomy patient is questionable, possibly because of peer pressure or defensive medicine practices or simply a ‘copy-paste’ from the practices of seniors.1,2 Preoperative blanket tests on the pretext of ‘finding any abnormalities’ has poor scientific merits. The preoperative LFTs for uncomplicated, elective cholecystectomy patients rarely add value and do not alter the already planned decision based on symptomatology, history, physical examination, and ultrasound diagnosis of cholelithiasis. The clinical pathway for the management in most cases remains unchanged. The practice of menu-style routine tests adds to the cost and rarely adds further useful information sufficient enough to alter the planned clinical pathway.3

Editorial board publication strategy and acceptance rates in Turkish national journals

Abstract Purpose This study takes advantage of newly released journal metrics to investigate whether local journals with more qualified boards have lower acceptance rates, based on data from 219 Turkish national journals and 2,367 editorial board members. Design/methodology/approach This study argues that journal editors can signal their scholarly quality by publishing in reputable journals. Conversely, editors publishing inside articles in affiliated national journals would send negative signals. The research predicts that high (low) quality editorial boards will conduct more (less) selective evaluation and their journals will have lower (higher) acceptance rates. Based on the publication strategy of editors, four measures of board quality are defined: Number of board inside publications per editor (INSIDER), number of board Social Sciences Citation Index publications per editor (SSCI), inside-to-SSCI article ratio (ISRA), and board citation per editor (CITATION). Predictions are tested by correlation and regression analysis. Findings Low-quality board proxies (INSIDER, ISRA) are positively, and high-quality board proxies (SSCI, CITATION) are negatively associated with acceptance rates. Further, we find that receiving a larger number of submissions, greater women representation on boards, and Web of Science and Scopus (WOSS) coverage are associated with lower acceptance rates. Acceptance rates for journals range from 12% to 91%, with an average of 54% and a median of 53%. Law journals have significantly higher average acceptance rate (68%) than other journals, while WOSS journals have the lowest (43%). Findings indicate some of the highest acceptance rates in Social Sciences literature, including competitive Business and Economics journals that traditionally have low acceptance rates. Limitations Research relies on local context to define publication strategy of editors. Findings may not be generalizable to mainstream journals and core science countries where emphasis on research quality is stronger and editorial selection is based on scientific merit. Practical implications Results offer useful insights into editorial management of national journals and allow us to make sense of local editorial practices. The importance of scientific merit for selection to national journal editorial boards is particularly highlighted for sound editorial evaluation of submitted manuscripts. Originality/value This is the first attempt to document a significant relation between acceptance rates and editorial board publication behavior.

A systematic review of interventions for echolalia in autistic children.

Echolalia, the repetition of others' speech, is a common observation in autistic people. Research has established that echolalia is functional and meaningful for many; however, some clinicians and researchers continue to characterise it as pathological and in need of reduction. The aim of this systematic review was to understand the range and impact of interventions for echolalia in autistic children. A systematic search was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 15 studies met predetermined inclusion criteria. Screening, data extraction and quality rating using the Scientific Merit Rating Scale (SMRS) were performed in duplicate. Ten interventions across 15 papers were found. Results indicated that interventions generally decreased levels of echolalia. However, there were considerable inconsistencies in the definitions and conceptualisations of echolalia, administration, generalisation techniques and the measures used. The quality of the studies was very low. Interventions for echolalia vary widely in terms of administration and measurement. There is limited consensus on the definition of echolalia among the reviewed studies, and no evidence that echolalia is recognised as functional or meaningful to the autistic children. Further, the lack of methodological rigour makes it difficult to draw clinical conclusions about the interventions. What is already known Echolalia is the immediate or delayed repetition of others' speech and is a common observation in autistic children and in some older autistic people. While research and practice has established that echolalia is a functional and meaningful form of communication, particularly for those first developing spoken communication, some clinicians and researchers continue to characterise it as problematic and suggest that echolalia should be reduced or eliminated. What this study adds We systematically searched the literature about echolalia interventions to try to find out about the types of interventions that aim to reduce or eliminate echolalia. We found 15 studies on this topic. The way they defined echolalia was varied, and there was a range of interventions researched. None of the research papers recognised echolalia as functional or meaningful and the quality of the research was very low. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Clinicians, families and researchers should think carefully and critically about suggesting any programs or supports that aim to reduce echolalia as no recommendations can be drawn from the research we studied. Echolalia should be considered functional, and efforts made to understand the meaning and purpose of echolalic speech.

On the occasion of the centennial of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1923: Nicolae C. Paulescu-between scientific creativity and political fanatism.

On the occasion of the centennial of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1923: Nicolae C. Paulescu-between scientific creativity and political fanatism.

Ethics of research

Ethics of research

Ubiquitinomics revealed disease- and stage-specific patterns relevant for the 3PM approach in human sigmoid colon cancers.

The patients with sigmoid colorectal cancer commonly show high mortality and poor prognosis. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that the ubiquitinated proteins and ubiquitination-mediated molecular pathways influence the growth and aggressiveness of colorectal cancer. It emphasizes the scientific merits of quantitative ubiquitinomics in human sigmoid colon cancer. We hypothesize that the ubiquitinome and ubiquitination-mediated pathway networks significantly differ in sigmoid colon cancers compared to controls, which offers the promise for in-depth insight into molecular mechanisms, discovery of effective therapeutic targets, and construction of reliable biomarkers in the framework of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM; 3P medicine). The first ubiquitinome analysis was performed with anti-K-ε-GG antibody beads (PTMScan ubiquitin remnant motif [K-ε-GG])-based label-free quantitative proteomics and bioinformatics to identify and quantify ubiquitination profiling between sigmoid colon cancer tissues and para-carcinoma tissues. A total of 100 human sigmoid colon cancer samples that included complete clinical information and the corresponding gene expression data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Ubiquitination was the main way of protein degradation; the relationships between differentially ubiquitinated proteins (DUPs) and their differently expressed genes (DEGs) and between DUPs and their differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were analyzed between cancer tissues and control tissues. The overall survival of those DUPs was obtained with Kaplan-Meier method. A total of 1249 ubiquitinated sites within 608 DUPs were identified in human sigmoid colon cancer tissues. KEGG pathway network analysis of these DUPs revealed 35 statistically significant signaling pathways, such as salmonella infection, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and ferroptosis. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of 608 DUPs revealed that protein ubiquitination was involved in 98 biological processes, 64 cellular components, 51 molecule functions, and 26 immune system processes. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of 608 DUPs revealed multiple high-combined scores and co-expressed DUPs. The relationship analysis between DUPs and their DEGs found 4 types of relationship models, including DUP-up (increased ubiquitination level) and DEG-up (increased gene expression), DUP-up and DEG-down (decreased gene expression), DUP-down (decreased ubiquitination level) and DEG-up, and DUP-down and DEG-down. The relationship analysis between DUPs and their DEPs found 4 types of relationship models, including DUP-up and DEP-up (increased protein expression), DUP-up and DEP-down (decreased protein expression), DUP-down and DEP-up, and DUP-down and DEP-down. Survival analysis found 46 overall survival-related DUPs in sigmoid colon cancer, and the drug sensitivity of overall survival-related DUPs were identified. The study provided the first differentially ubiquitinated proteomic profiling, ubiquitination-involved signaling pathway network changes, and the relationship models between protein ubiquitination and its gene expression and between protein ubiquitination and its protein expression, in human sigmoid colon cancer. It offers the promise for deep insights into molecular mechanisms of sigmoid colon cancer, and discovery of effective therapeutic targets and biomarkers for patient stratification, predictive diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and personalized treatment in the context of 3P medicine. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13167-023-00328-2.

“The Law of the Politics - When Creating Something New, One Should Rely on What Has Been Achieved, Not Diminish the Old”: for the 100th Anniversary of A.M. Kovalev

The study analyzes the contribution of Alexander Kovalev to science and education, who stood at the origins of political science since its institutionalization in Russia. The contours of his general political and philosophical concept of social development are determined, original approaches to the interpretation of the categories “power” and “politics”, the laws of politics and political activity, and a number of basic concepts of political science are reconstructed. The role of A. Kovalev in substantiating the importance of political science, its structure and its place in the system of social and humanitarian sciences is highlighted. His persistent desire to establish the foundations of politics with the way of production of public life is noted and thereby more fully highlight the ideological and methodological aspects of political science knowledge, to link the philosophy and theory of political science with the variety of its instrumental dimensions. A. Kovalev’s interpretation of the problem of interrelation and interdependence of system-wide and individual needs and interests in public life, natural and spontaneous in the political process, the importance of the moral principle in politics is revealed. The question is raised about his development of the problem of the correlation of natural and social, the dialectics of civilizational and formational in social development, the correlation of innovations and traditions in political life, the scientific responsibility of a political scientist. Particular attention is paid to the qualities of A. Kovalev as an organizer of science, teacher and mentor, who educated many dozens and even hundreds of political scientists who confidently took their place in the formation and development of political science in the country. It is emphasized that the scientific merits of A. Kovalev are inseparable from his highly moral civil position, responsibility for the fate of the Motherland.

Animal models of focal ischemic stroke: brain size matters

Stroke remains the second leading cause of death worldwide and the third cause of disability-adjusted life-years. Most strokes are ischemic in nature, meaning they are caused by the disruption of cerebral blood flow resulting from obstructed blood vessels. Reperfusion therapies such as thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator and endovascular mechanical thrombectomy are very effective and are becoming game changers for eligible patients. Despite these advances, the achieved effects are insufficient from the perspective of the entire population of stroke patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to expand eligibility for reperfusion therapies and implement adjuvant therapeutic measures. Animal stroke models are at the forefront of these efforts, helping to untangle complex pathophysiology and providing valuable preclinical data to guide further clinical trials. Various stroke models are available, including direct blocking of cerebral arteries or using other means to recapitulate stroke pathophysiology. International advisory boards recommend initial in vivo experiments be performed in smaller animals, such as rodents. However, second testing would be more desirable in larger animals such as cats, pigs, dogs, and non-human primates. Due to larger cerebral volume, gyrencephalization, and higher white/gray matter ratio, large animals are crucial in translational stroke research. Animal stroke models differ in the time and complexity of the stroke induction procedure, the reproducibility rate, the level of similarity to the human condition, and the possibilities for analysis, imaging, and follow-up studies. The choice of the most appropriate stroke model may translate to better bench-to-bedside translation of preclinical stroke research; ideally, this choice should be based solely on scientific merit.

Bioinspired Golden Spiral Shapes on Crushing Protection Behaviors of Tubular Structures

Advanced structure design for energy absorption is a long‐lasting pursuit due to its fascinating scientific merit in mechanics and important engineering application. Curves, a type of mathematical variation in geometry, are widely adopted in the biological system and biomaterial structures after long‐time nature evolution toward optimization and adaption. Inspired by nature, a novel type of tubular structure is designed with golden spiral curvature. With the variations in the hierarchy of the supporting spirals and the number of arms, a maximum of 38.8% increase is demonstrated in performance over an uncurved counterpart structure. The computational modeling reveals that the additional added golden spiral arms within the tube enhance the rigidity and increase the energy dissipation via progress buckling involved by additional materials such that the energy absorption upon crushing is significantly improved. Theoretical models then provide intrinsic underlying mechanics analysis with more intuitive design guidance for such structures. Results develop an efficient yet simple design based on widely accepted tubular structure design for impact protection, enrich the mechanistic understanding of the nonlinear buckling behaviors, and provide applicable design guidance for engineering structures.

Subgroup analysis of scientific performance in the field of arthroplasty.

Arthroplasty is the final treatment option for maintaining mobility and quality of life in many primary degenerative and (post-) traumatic joint diseases. Identification of research output and potential deficits for specific subspecialties may be an important measure to achieve long-term improvement of patient care in this field. Using specific search terms and Boolean operators, all studies published since 1945 to the subgroups of arthroplasty listed in the Web of Science Core Collection were included. All identified publications were analysed according to bibliometric standards, and comparative conclusions were drawn regarding the scientific merit of each subgroup. Most publications investigated the subgroups of septic surgery and materials followed by approach, navigation, aseptic loosening, robotic and enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). In the last 5 years, research in the fields of robotic and ERAS achieved the highest relative increase in publications In contrast, research on aseptic loosening has continued to lose interest over the last 5 years. Publications on robotics and materials received the most funding on average while those on aseptic loosening received the least. Most publications originated from USA, Germany, and England, except for research on ERAS in which Denmark stood out. Relatively, publications on aseptic loosening received the most citations, whereas the absolute scientific interest was highest for the topic infection. In this bibliometric subgroup analysis, the primary scientific outputs focused on septic complications and materials research in the field of arthroplasty. With decreasing publication output and the least financial support, intensification of research on aseptic loosening is urgently recommended.

Persecutee in the Third Reich, full professor in the GDR: The communist physician Carl Coutelle (1908-1993) and his post-war career as pathologist.

As an avowed communist, Carl Coutelle was one of the few (future) pathologists persecuted for purely political reasons in the Third Reich. Despite this peculiarity, his life has received little attention. The present article takes the existing research desideratum as an opportunity to elaborate on Coutelle's fate during the Nazi era, but also on his academic rise to the position of full professor at the University of Halle (GDR). The analysis is based on extensive files from various German archives. The article pursues a twofold question: On the one hand, it seems necessary to clarify how Coutelle's life between 1933 and 1945 can be characterized and classified, and on the other hand, it is of interest whether he owed his career in the GDR primarily to scientific merit or to state support.It can be shown that Coutelle's career path reflects the prevailing political power relations: With the beginning of the Third Reich, Coutelle was completely disenfranchised because of his political views; he was forced to emigrate, interrupted his nascent scientific career, and became actively involved in the international anti-fascist resistance. After the war, Coutelle became one of the protagonists of the socialist transformation and denazification of the health care system in the Soviet Occupation Zone. Now his career took the opposite course: Although his research performance was below average compared to other pathologists from the GDR, the avowed communist was appointed full professor - due to state intervention and against the declared will of the faculty in Halle.

Independent society publishers and the path to open scholarship

Independent society publishers and the path to open scholarship

Quantified Zero Thermal Expansion in Magnetic R2Fe17-Based Intermetallic Compounds (R = Rare Earth)

Zero thermal expansion (ZTE) has been a fascinating task for the past few decades due to its great scientific and practical merits. To realize ZTE, negative thermal expansion is typically employed by chemical substitutions on tuning structure features, which often relies on trial and error. Here, we report on exploring quantification of thermal expansion with magnetic ordering in an intermetallic class of R2Fe17 (R = rare earth), which can accurately determine the ZTE composition using a documented database. It demonstrates that the magnetic ordering of the Fe-sublattice contributes to the thermal expansion anomaly through simultaneous examinations of magnetization and neutron powder diffraction. Alternative elements can be manipulated on a Fe-sublattice to control both the total ordered magnetic moments of the Fe-sublattice and Curie temperature, which tailors the temperature variation of the magnetic contributions on thermal expansion. The current work might point to a future for ZTE high throughput searches, anticipated to benefit applications.

Reasons for modern contraceptives choice and long-acting reversible contraceptives early removal in Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia; qualitative approach

BackgroundWomen use modern contraceptive methods, mainly either to limit or space pregnancy and both are not identical in their choices. One method may not best fit an individual’s need irrespective of the time of spacing. Cognizant of this, the context with which women base in choice of contraceptives, their lived experiences in using, and factors for early removal/ discontinuation of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are not much investigated in the study setting and our study aimed to bridge the gap through exploring the underlying reasons.MethodA phenomenological study design was used to explore sampled women’s reasons and experiences. Reproductive-aged women (15–49 years) who removed long-acting methods in the past 6 months were included. A criterion sampling approach was employed to recruit study participants. Data was collected using an interview guide for in-depth (IDIs) and key informant interviews and were tape-recorded with interviewees' consent. Audio data were transcribed verbatim and translated into English. The data was first saved in plain text format and imported into Atlas.ti 7.0 software to facilitate coding and categorizing. The content analysis method was used to classify, organize data, and interpret the qualitative data according to key categories.ResultsSeveral misconceptions about contraceptives (e.g., implants are not appropriate for daily laborers, women who use contraceptives (such as injectables) can only bear girl-child, etc.) were reported by clients and health providers. These misconceptions might not have scientific merit but they are powerful enough to affect actual behaviors toward contraceptives, including early removal. The awareness, attitude, and use of contraceptives tend to be lower in rural areas. For premature removal of LARCs, side effects, and heavy menstrual bleeding, was the most commonly identified reason. The IUCD is the least preferred method and users said it is not comfortable during sex.Conclusion and recommendationOur study found different reasons and misconceptions for modern contraceptive methods’ non-use and discontinuation. Standardized counseling approaches like the REDI (Rapport Building, Exploration, Decision Making, and Implementation) framework should be implemented in the country consistently. Some of the concrete providers’ conceptions should be well-studied considering contextual factors to bring scientific evidence.

Validity and Racial Justice in Educational Assessment

Given its centrality to assessment, until the concept of validity includes concern for racial justice, such matters will be seen as residing outside the “real” work of validation, rendering them powerless to count against the apparent scientific merit of the test. As the definition of validity has evolved, however, it holds great potential to centralize matters like racial (in)justice, positioning them as necessary validity evidence. This article reviews a history of debates over what validity should and shouldn’t encompass; we then look toward the more centralized stances on validity – the book series Standards and Educational Measurement – where we see that test use, and the social impact of test use, has been a mounting concern over the years within these publications. Finally, we explore Kane’s argument-based approach to validation, which I argue could impact racial justice concerns by centralizing them within the very notion of what makes assessment valid or invalid.