SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AS AN OBJECT OF DISCURSIVE CONTESTATION IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH

AN ANALYTICAL-CONCEPTUAL APPROACH

Authors

Keywords:

public health, scientific literature, public policy, scientific evidence

Abstract

Scientific evidence provides a foundation for decision-making and the formulation of
public health policies and can be understood as the outcome of systematic processes of inquiry. This study aimed to analyze how the concept of scientific evidence is constructed and mobilized in official statements issued by the current U.S. administration, seeking to identify its
characteristics, attributes, and conceptual relationships. A qualitative, exploratory, and
descriptive study was conducted, drawing on documentary research and Ingetraut Dahlberg’s
concept-analytical method. The corpus comprised 20 official White House documents retrieved using the term “scientific evidence.” The analytical categories included the legitimation of science, institutional delegitimation, politicization of science, strategic selection of evidence, construction of authority, and scientific nationalism. NotebookLM was used as a tool for data processing and categorization. The findings show that the documents associate scientific evidence with transparency, objectivity, reproducibility, and freedom from ideology, while simultaneously linking it to notions of “common sense,” national sovereignty, and individual freedom. A simultaneous process of legitimation and delegitimation of scientific authority was
identified: certain scientific consensuses and institutions are challenged through accusations of politicization and bureaucratization, while other forms of knowledge and authority are legitimized. The study concludes that the concept of scientific evidence is reconfigured within the political context analyzed through the selective attribution of characteristics and conceptual relationships that establish criteria for the legitimacy, authority, and validation of knowledge, with implications for contemporary disputes surrounding scientific information and public health policy.

Author Biographies

  • Marianna Zattar, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

    Holds a Postdoctoral degree in Information Science from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), as well as a Ph.D. and Master’s degree in Information Science from the Federal University of Rio Janeiro in partnership with the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (UFRJ-IBICT). Holds a post-graduate specialization in Strategic Information Management and Competitive Intelligence from SENAC-RJ and a Bachelor's degree in Library Science from UNIRIO. She is a Public Health Researcher at the Laboratory of Scientific and Technological Information in Health (LICTS), within the Institute of Scientific and Technological Communication and Information in Health (ICICT) at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). She is also an Associate Professor at the School of Administration and Accounting (FACC) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and permanent faculty member in the Graduate Program in Health Information and Communication (PPGICS-ICICT). She leads the CNPq research groups Rede de competência em informação (Information Literacy Network - UFRJ) and Nós da ciência (Science Nodes - Fiocruz). She is a member of the Rio de Janeiro Information Literacy Network, the Information Science Research Network on Disinformation (RECIDES), and the National Network to Combat Disinformation (RNCD). Her areas of expertise include: information literacy, information education, media literacy, information evaluation, information integrity, scientific integrity, scientific disinformation, and science disinformation (including scientific denialism and anti-science movements).

  • Juliana de Assis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

    Associate Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Member of the Brazilian chapter of the International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO). Vice-Lead of #FOLKCoLAB - Laboratory of Research and Practices on Folksonomy and Hybrid Knowledge Organization Systems. Member of the Knowledge Organization for Information Retrieval Research Group (GPOCRI) at UNIRIO. Holds a Ph.D. and a Master's degree in Information Science from the Graduate Program in Information Science (PPGCI) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Holds a Bachelor's degree in Library Science and Information Management from the School of Information Science (ECI/UFMG). Served as Undergraduate Coordinator for the Library Science and Information Unit Management program at UFRJ (2017–2022). Member of the Core Faculty Committee (Núcleo Docente Estruturante) for the Library Science and Information Unit Management degree at UFRJ (2018–2025). Member of the Planning Committee for the Professional Master's Degree in Knowledge Organization, Technologies, and Society at UFRJ (2022–2025). Her research interests include: Knowledge Organization; Information Organization; Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS); Social Network Analysis (SNA); Information Representation and Retrieval in Dynamic Contexts; Applied Semiotics; Inferential Web; and Educational Technologies.

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Published

2026-11-13

Conference Proceedings Volume

2026: XXVI ENCONTRO NACIONAL DE PESQUISA E PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM CIÊNCIA DA INFORMAÇÃO

Section

GT 11 – Informação & Saúde

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