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The Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE) is a quarterly publication of the Society for Scientific Exploration (founded in 1982). According to its mission statement, this publication "was established in 1987 to provide a professional forum for the presentation, scrutiny and criticism of scientific research on topics outside the established disciplines of mainstream science."

Topics and policies

The JSE was initially established to provide a scientific forum for three main fields that had largely been neglected by mainstream science: ufology, cryptozoology, and parapsychology. They have also published scientific papers, essays and book reviews on alternative medicine, astrology, consciousness, reincarnation and other paranormal phenomena. These and other topics have largely been excluded from scientific journals, and the JSE was created to allow for reasoned arguments, both pro and con, regarding paranormal, protoscience and fringe science claims.

Bernard Haisch and Martha Sims, respectively past editor in chief and past executive director, describe the Journal of Scientific Exploration "as peer-reviewed Journal following the customs and standards of academic journals but designed specifically for the scholarly study of anomalies". Its "Instructions for Authors" states that papers are subjected to peer review "at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief". If the paper is accepted "but there remain points of disagreement between authors and referee(s), the reviewer(s) may be given the option of having their opinion(s) published..." "The publication of such critical reviews is intended to encourage the debate and discussion of controversial issues, since such debate and discussion offer the only path toward eventual resolution and consensus." This discretionary use of refereeing is partly because fringe science or protoscience sometimes do not have established methodologies or frameworks for study. The policy of the journal is to maintain a critical view by presenting both sides of an argument so as not to advocate for or against any of the published topics. The Journal's website describes the publication's purpose as providing "a professional forum for presentations, criticism, and debate concerning topics which are for various reasons ignored or studied inadequately within mainstream science", and describes the Journal as a "critical forum of rationality and observational evidence for the often strange claims at the fringes of science."

Some observers regard the JSE as a legitimate attempt to explore the frontiers of science, while others view it as a forum for scientifically objectionable or dubious ideas. Michael D. Lemonick wrote an article about the Society for Scientific Exploration called Science on the Fringe for Time Magazine.

Refereeing

The editors explain that "in established disciplines, concordance with accepted disciplinary paradigms is the chief guide in evaluating material for scholarly publication. On the matters of interest to the Society for Scientific Exploration, however, consensus does not prevail. Therefore the Journal of Scientific Exploration necessarily publishes claimed observations and proffered explanations that will seem more speculative or less plausible than in some mainstream disciplinary journals. Nevertheless, those observations and explanations must conform to rigorous standards of observational techniques and logical argument."

Key personnel

Editors-in-Chief

• Ronald A. Howard (management science, Stanford University), Founder and Editor-in-Chief 1987-1988
• Bernard Haisch (astrophysics, UC Berkeley) Editor-in-Chief 1988-1999
• Henry Bauer (chemistry, VPI) 1999-present

See also

• Fringe science
• Protoscience

References

1. ^ Journal of Scientific Exploration website Cite error: The named reference "JSE" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. ^ http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/articles/pdf/18.1_haisch_sims.pdf B.Haisch, M.Sims, A Retrospective on the Journal of Scientific Exploration, JSE Vol 18, No 1 (2004) Cite error: The named reference "retrospective" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/author_instr.php JSE Instructions for Authors
4. http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/v11n1.php JSE Vol 11, No 1 (Spring 1997) - as an example for presenting both sides of an argument (Mars effect)
5. http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/v12n1.php JSE Vol 12, No 1 (Spring 1998) - as an example for presenting both sides of an argument (Roswell)
6. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/college/specialinterestgroups/spirituality/resources/journals.aspx A Resource List for the Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
7. http://www.hist.unt.edu/web_resources/anth_journal.htm Journals and Other Media at the Department of History of the University of North Texas
8. See archives on
9. Lemonick MD (May 24, 2005). Science on the Fringe. Time
10. Instructions for Authors
11. http://www.manyone.net/about/management/bernard-haisch.html ManyOne - Management: Dr. Bernard Haisch, Ph.D.
12. http://spec.lib.vt.edu/mss/bauer.html Henry H. Bauer Papers, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

External links

• Journal of Scientific Exploration, the JSE website
• Society for Scientific Exploration, publisher of JSE

• Skeptic multimedia
• Fringe physics
• Fringe science journals