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New C-SCOPE paper accepted in Perspectives on Science
We are pleased to announce that a new paper, 'Mapping Scientific Agreement and Disagreement: The Case for a Dedicated Center', has been accepted for publication in Perspectives on Science.
The paper examines the case for establishing a dedicated centre to systematically measure scientific agreement and disagreement. Drawing on lessons from three pilot studies conducted between 2022 and 2025, it explores both the practical feasibility and the wider philosophical, social, and political implications of such an initiative.
The paper also considers prominent objections, including concerns about expertise, elitism, and the relationship between scientific opinion and policymaking. It argues that a carefully designed centre, focused on describing rather than prescribing, can provide valuable insights into patterns of scientific agreement, disagreement, and uncertainty.
The paper provides a detailed account of the rationale underpinning C-SCOPE and its approach to mapping scientific opinion.
Details available here:
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18th June 2026, interview with Deutschlandfunk Kultur:
This German-language radio feature examines how large-scale surveys of researchers can help distinguish scientific consensus from media hype. Using the reported detection of possible signs of life on exoplanet K2-18b as its main example, it explains how C-SCOPE surveys entire scientific communities rather than relying on a small number of prominent or opposing voices. The programme discusses C-SCOPE’s survey of 496 astrobiologists, in which fewer than 7% agreed that extraterrestrial life had probably been discovered on K2-18b, whilst around two-thirds disagreed. It presents C-SCOPE as a valuable tool for science journalism, public understanding, and evidence-based decision-making, because its surveys reveal both the overall level of agreement and the distribution of disagreement within a research community.
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5th June 2026, article in The Conversation:
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5th June 2026, news article in the journal Science:
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17th May 2023, news feature article in the journal Nature: