Commentary: Focus on the Research, Not the Researcher

by Sally Satel, Persuasion May 01, 2023 1 min read

Commentary: Focus on the Research, Not the Researcher

by Sally Satel, Persuasion

A foundational principle of truth-seeking is the norm of universalism: the concept that work must be judged on its own merits.

When this principle is applied to academic journals, it means that the studies—the hypotheses being tested, methods used, and interpretations presented—should speak for themselves.  But authors are now distorting that process with so-called “positionality statements.” These disclosures are included in the body of research papers and describe personal attributes of the authors, like their identities, experiences, and societal advantages.


Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in National Free Speech News & Commentary

After punishing people for Charlie Kirk comments, colleges are paying steep settlements
After punishing people for Charlie Kirk comments, colleges are paying steep settlements

Graham Piro  July 16, 2026 1 min read

Violating the First Amendment will cost you. Universities and other public institutions are learning this lesson the hard way as the dust settles on a series of lawsuits brought by university faculty and staff who were punished for their comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder last September.

Read More
Inside An Elite University’s Campaign To Bring Conservatives to Campus
Inside An Elite University’s Campaign To Bring Conservatives to Campus

Vince Bielski July 16, 2026 1 min read

If Johns Hopkins University wanted to signal its seriousness about creating an alternative to the left-leaning orthodoxy that permeates higher education, it couldn’t have done better than the recent hire of economist Peter Arcidiacono.

Read More
House Republicans Advance Legislation to Formally Dismantle ED
House Republicans Advance Legislation to Formally Dismantle ED

Jessica Blake July 16, 2026 1 min read

House Republicans have now formally backed President Donald Trump in fulfilling his campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education, voting Wednesday to advance 10 bills that would codify the White House’s efforts to disperse numerous education programs and offices to other federal agencies.

Read More