Our new open access paper critically reassesses how scientific progress is measured in the social sciences.
In natural sciences, disruptiveness is often treated as a key indicator of scientific progress. Drawing on philosophy and sociology of science, we argue that in the social sciences, scientific progress is predominantly cumulative.
High disruptiveness scores may reflect pseudo-novelty or fragmentation rather than substantive epistemic advances. We therefore propose a multi-dimensional understanding of scientific progress that integrates disruption and consolidation within an overarching cumulative trajectory.
Newig, Jens; Rose, Michael; Aksoy, Zühre; Beaudoin, Simon; Bolognesi, Thomas; Fritsch, Oliver; Hegger, Dries; Hofmann, Benjamin; Jager, Nicolas W.; Kellner, Elke; Leipold, Sina; Persson, Åsa; Runhaar, Hens; Webb, Bob (2026): Rethinking scientific progress in the social sciences: disruptive or cumulative? In Research Policy 55 (4), 105451. DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2026.105451.
