DFAS-MRL-01: TOWARD A META-SCIENCE STANDARD FOR RESEARCH LEGITIMACY

Abstract

Introduction: Contemporary academic systems evaluate scientific work primarily through outputs, results, methods, and narrative coherence, while the research path itself remains comparatively under-governed. This structural limitation becomes increasingly consequential under acceleration driven by artificial intelligence, automation, and high-volume research production.

Methods: This paper adopts a normative meta-scientific approach to conceptualize research legitimacy through governance rather than outcomes alone. It develops the framework through conceptual separation of methodological rigor, result validity, and path integrity, integrating research path governance, causal discipline, and temporal knowledge traceability while intentionally withholding operational mechanisms.

Results: The analysis establishes traceable, temporally coherent, and governed decision paths as a distinct condition of scientific legitimacy, independent of result correctness or institutional acceptance. It identifies process-governed science as an alternative to reliance on output-based validation alone and establishes the meta-scientific conditions under which future research-governance standards may emerge.

Discussion: The framework positions governance of the research path as a prerequisite for sustaining scientific legitimacy under accelerated knowledge production. Rather than introducing tools, metrics, or enforcement systems, it establishes a foundational conceptual standard for governing how scientific knowledge is produced, revised, and justified.