Missing link in science: objectifying how we understand research
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Researchers propose a new way to recognise and share the process of interpreting scientific papers.
The current system excels at making research results, the papers themselves, citable and trackable, but lacks a formal way to acknowledge the crucial work of understanding those results. This missing piece, termed an Interpretive Knowledge Node (IKN), represents the elaborations, translations and clarifications researchers make when engaging with existing scholarship.
The authors argue that interpretation isn’t simply extracting information, but a distinct cognitive process deserving of its own scholarly identity. An IKN, to qualify as a scholarly object, must demonstrate clear origins, a fixed interpretation, recognition by other researchers, and the ability to be cited. This isn’t about replacing scientific papers, but expanding the system to also record how discoveries are understood, not just what those discoveries are.
Establishing IKNs could improve knowledge sharing and build on existing research more effectively.
