PSI Policy Position Statement
PSI Champions Transparency In Communicating Scientific Findings
“Per Veritas Ad Victoriam”
[This Statement of Policy was approved by the membership on June 19, 2017 and adopted by the Trustees of Principia Scientific International, Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX]
Principia Scientific International (PSI) pledges to serve the interests of open and objective scientific discourse and discovery. PSI holds no party political position and serves no third party for profit. As a community interest, not-for-profit association of scientists and friends of science we encourage, support and facilitate the free communication of scientific data, open debate and scientific findings where they fulfill the traditional scientific method.
[Please note: PSI receives no funding from corporations, governments, NGO’s or other vested interests. Our income is solely via voluntary donations from individuals]
Science in the 21st Century faces a stark choice: to either continue the slide into establishment-controlled, politicized post-normalism (as in fake news, post truth media) or return to the tried and tested traditional scientific method relied on since the era of Sir Isaac Newton.
Why PSI Is Unique:
PSI is the world’s first truly international science association championing the traditional scientific method and actively seeking the abandonment of post-normal science. Details of our objectives are here and here. PSI advocates the ideas of Karl Popper and the Steps of the Scientific Method. As science publishers we are pioneers of the PROM Submission System (Peer Review in Open Media – see below for more details).*
Falsifiability: key to uncovering truths about the world and the universe around us is the concept of falsifiability. To this end scientists shall design experiments and try to obtain results verifying or disproving a hypothesis (as shown in the diagram below):
Our body of members unswervingly adheres to such ideals because they best serve the interests of technological progress and society as a whole.
A core imperative of Popper’s ideas is that scientists should present their findings to the wider international scientific community, policy makers, the media, and the public without censorship, intimidation, or political interference; the only excusable exceptions being any proprietary information or constraints arising from national or personal security.
Science policy moves within a continuum of social change—as such change brings vulnerability to violation. Consistent, empirical standards are our insurance for when science policy proposals have greatest bearing on society.
Every branch of science shall engage meaningfully with other sciences to ensure the fair and full application of the Scientific Method and uniform and rigorous applications of Scientific Laws. Thus, all scientists share a special responsibility to mentor, advise and encourage other branches of science to uphold rigorous applications of the ideals enshrined within the wider interpretation of Best Practice (as per the Scientific Method).
Permissions: Every member is encouraged to use any PSI policy statement in discussions with their local or national policy makers as the official position of Principia Scientific International.
Institutions and associations everywhere may otherwise feel free to adapt any PSI position statement with or without attribution as a basis for developing their own policy statements similarly championing traditional scientific methodology.
Unafraid To Be Bold When The Science Requires It
We are most proud of the findings of our science papers found located in PSI’s ‘Publications’ section. Such science has been robustly and openly reviewed and demonstrates our willingness to embrace cutting-edge findings at odds with the orthodox or ‘consensus’ view. Our papers are all put through the PROM system and are available to full and open public scrutiny for a period of not less than one month. Feedback is positively encouraged from the public and from members. Members may comment directly and openly on the Discussion Forum where authors of papers are required to openly address any specific points put to them. Members of the public who wish to provide feedback may contact the editors here.
Join our growing team and be a part of the debate.
Our Publishing Procedure: Author Submissions
Principia Scientific International strives for innovation as well as advocacy for higher scientific standards.
Combining innovation with our desire to raise standards in science peer-review PSI publishes free-to-view original science papers that: (a) encourage free access to high-quality scientific analysis and (b) showcases the work of dedicated science authors who put principle before profit.
PROM review will be more or less as follows with the objective of improving papers before final publication. Here is the following step-by-step guide:
(1) Immediate rejection of any paper as a proposed ‘PSI Draft’ without review if it is irrelevant, trivial or clearly incompetent;
(2) Review of all remaining papers by the editorial team and in collaboration with the author(s) appoint at least one specialist reviewer;
(3) Selected papers will be published on PSI as ‘PSI Draft in Review’ with a cover tinted red (our finalized and approved papers are colored blue) and posted above under the drop-down menu marked ‘PROM;’
(4) For a period of no less than one month PSI welcomes public comments and notice of the paper’s appearance in the PROM review process is notified to all our subscribers via our newsletter and, on occasion, via an article to showcase it;
(5) All feedback is collated and where comments have been posted in the members’ Discussion Forum authors will be encouraged to post open responses therein;
(6) At the end of the review period PSI editorial team will decide whether the reviewers’ and commenters’ suggestions have been adequately addressed. If there are no problems the paper is promoted to approved status;
(7) Alternatively, if the author(s) is (are) unable to revise the paper to the satisfaction of the editorial team, then PSI reserves the right to (a) reject outright or publish the paper with the reviewers’ qualified comments appended (b) put the paper (with modifications) through the PROM process again with author(s) consent.
One Ideal, One High Standard
Principia Scientific International (PSI) is not like other science publishers and national science associations. PSI adhered strictly to the scientific method publishing both cutting-edge science and quality academic papers targeted for readers who are specialists in their field as well as the lay public looking for an alternative take on science issues. Here at PSI we don’t ‘sanitize’ data as post-normal institutions are often accused of doing. We serve no political agenda or paymaster that may otherwise steer us to suit a particular agenda.
PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL, legally registered in the UK as a company incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX. Telephone: Calls from within the UK: 020 7419 5027. International dialling: (44) 20 7419 5027.