Hypothesis Generator

Is good medical research directed at testing hypotheses? Or is there a competing model of good medical research that sees hypothesis generating research as a valuable end? In an intriguing essay appearing in the August 21, 2009 issue of Cell, Maureen O’Malley and co-authors show how current funding mechanisms at agencies like NIH and NSF center their model of scientific merit around the testing of hypotheses (e.g. does molecule X cause phenomenon Y? does drug A outperform drug B?). However, as the authors (and others) point out, many areas of research are not based on such “tightly bounded spheres of inquiry.” They suggest that a “more complete representation of the iterative, interdisciplinary, and multidimensional relationships between various modes of scientific investigation could improve funding agency guidelines.”

2010 February 9 | Leave a comment | Tags: funding validity value

@Manual{stream2010-74,
    title = {Hypothesis Generator},
    journal = {STREAM research},
    author = {Jonathan Kimmelman},
    address = {Montreal, Canada},
    date = 2010,
    month = feb,
    day = 9,
    url = {http://www.translationalethics.com/2010/02/09/hypothesis-generator/}
}