Research

Kara Kedrick examines the ‘ecosystem of discovery’ through three complementary streams of research, considering: 1) the series of cognitive processes that facilitate discovery, 2) the social structures and dynamics that shape collective knowledge, and 3) the interaction between individual minds and collective knowledge.

Selected Publications

Kedrick, K., Levitskaya, E., & Funk, R. (2024). Conceptual structure and the growth of scientific knowledge. Nature Human Behaviour, 8, 1915–1923. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-01957-x

Kedrick, K., Burhite, K., Vilares, I., & Schrater, P. (2026). Creative Foraging and the Explore-Exploit Trade-off in Knowledge Networks. Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106451

Kedrick, K., Schrater, P., & Koutstaal, W. (2023). The multifaceted role of self-generated question asking in curiosity-driven learning. Cognitive Science, 47, e13253. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13253

Kedrick, K., Yang, W., Gebhart, T., Wang, Y., & Funk, R. J. (R&R). Opening Knowledge Gaps Drives Scientific Progress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://arxiv.org/abs/2509.21899

Kedrick, K., & Golman, R. (R&R). Explanation Generation: Questions Direct Exploration in Semantic Space. Cognition. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/shnkf_v2

Kedrick, K., Zollman, K. J, & DeDeo, S. (R&R). How Explanations Evolve: Social Learning and the Explore-Exploit Trade-off. Cognitive Psychology. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/txk7m_v1

Kedrick, K., Levitskaya, E., & Funk, R. (R&R). Investigating writing style as a contributor to gender gaps in science and technology. Quantitative Science Studies. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2204.13805

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