Running Head: ARTICLE EVALUATION

Interdisciplinary Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Journal

Journal Title: The Political Epistemology of Science-Based Policy-Making
Louis Urquhart
Norfolk State University

ARTICLE EVALUATION

The main purpose of this peer-reviewed journal article is to inform the reader that policy
making in the United States on the federal and state levels and also internationally should be
based in scientific fact and research. The key questions that are addressed include why it is
important for policy to be based in science? How can science best advise policy making
organizations? How political practices and policy can support institutional agencies for creating
full-bodied and reliable suggestions and recommendations (Pedersen, 2014)?
The most important information covered in this article is in the last Presidential
administration; President Bush and his administration made policies that were not based in
science but in political dogma. He utilized information from various organizations that were not
science based and leaned toward religious and conservative views (Pedersen, 2014). The Obama
administration corrected this flaw in logic by promoting scientific integrity in policy making not
only in United States but worldwide. Several international organizations have been formed to
insure that scientific principles and scientific evidence be made available to government agencies
when in the midst of policy making (Pedersen, 2014).
There are a couple of conclusive concepts in this article. Since a lot of scientific research
is funded by the private sector and private industry and scientists depend on the funding; their
research might be skewed to the benefit of the company/companies that are funding the research
(Pedersen, 2014). Universities and public research institutions should receive more funding from
the government so the policy makers can have scientific recommendations that are fair and not
tainted by private sector needs (Pedersen, 2014). There are some main concepts mentioned in
this article they are: science, government, policy-making, epistemology, balance and
transparency.

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One assumption that the author of this peer-reviewed journal is making is assuming that it
will not be any opposition to this policy making with scientific basis. Even though most people
would agree with the articles findings and opinions; there will be disagreement and
obstructionists. One main point of view according to Pedersen (2014), The role of sciencebased policy-making is less about providing direct technical expertise than it is about nudging
attitudes and practices to enhance the demand for and supply of sound evidence for public
policy (p. 551). The main reasoning of this article is utilizing science based policies is vital for
improving the quality, value, legitimacy and worth of democratic governance systems (Pedersen,
2014).
I selected this article because it is about politics and science. My major is political
science and I absolutely love science and totally believe in science. This article is
interdisciplinary because it is addressing two totally different disciplines political science and the
sciences (the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the
structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.)
The sciences are being integrated with political science in order to create policy. When
discussing political topics such as climate change, stem cell research, and evolutionary science
and biology (Pedersen, 2014) is important to note that these topics are really scientific in nature.
Politics is being integrated into the discussion.
I can see how the author so seamlessly integrated the disciplines of politics and the
sciences in his research paper. This can be a map to how I might want to write a research paper
in the future that includes a political point of view since my first major was political science;
which is also my concentration in Interdisciplinary Studies. Interdisciplinarity at work was
pretty obvious in this research paper. Scientific research which should be entirely funded by the

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federal government is also what the federal government needs to make policy. The research is
used to make informed discussions and decisions regarding policy not only in the United States
but also globally.
References
Pedersen, D. (2014). The political epistemology of science-based policy-making. Society, 51(5),
547-551. doi:10.1007/s12115-014-9820-z
Science. 2014. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/science