Daniel Mirman, Robert McIntosh, Anne Scheel und Anna-Lena Schubert geben einen Special Issue zum Thema "Strengthening derivation chains in cognitive neuroscience" in Cortex heraus. Presubmission enquiries können bis zum 31.03.2022 eingereicht werden; der Einreichungsschluss für die vollständigen Manuskripte ist der 31.12.2022. Weitere Informationen finden sich auf der Website des Journals und im begleitenden Editorial.
Building knowledge requires a sound connection between empirical observations and inferred scientific claims. This “derivation chain” (Meehl, 1990) links premises and auxiliary assumptions that are necessary for translating theoretical claims into empirical predictions (Scheel et al., 2021). Any weak element in the derivation chain — e.g., a vague theoretical concept, an unreliable measure, an untested assumption about participant compliance — can invalidate the inference drawn from the data. To lay the foundation for strong inferences, scientists must establish concepts and methods, and examine auxiliaries. This Special Issue aims to stimulate and showcase foundational research that directly targets derivation-chain elements in cognitive neuroscience.