Social Science and Obscurity

Recently, there has been a greater critical awareness of the obscurity present in the social sciences. As a researcher, it is hard to notice how arcane, and often inaccessible, our topics of research become as we progress deeper into the esoteric. This has become a significant problem as it makes it very difficult for work to have merit outside of the small circle of researchers directly involved in the topic. The information is recondite, abstruse, and often not valuable to the lay public, or even the larger research community. This can be seen from the topics to the language used. Unfortunately, though, it can also act as a gatekeeper to prevent those who have not undergone academic vetting from accessing information. The effects this may have on society and the research community can only be postulated but it will be very interesting to see how our research can be saved from obscurity.

Please take a look at this article posted by Times Higher Education to gain a deeper perspective: Link