Whither a more inclusive site name?

Question

During discussions about a possible merger with the Neuroinformatics proposal see this Meta.cogsci question, on the related discuss.area51 post a comment was made about whether the name of the site is inclusive enough. (More on evidence of name confusion)

While I have always "gotten" that Cognitive Sciences is a great umbrella, I had previously wondered if it was faithful to all facets of the Psychology proposal that was subsumed during the Commitment phase. With the recent Area 51 discussion, it made me wonder if in a casual search, a web searchers and seekers would consider checking if neuro questions were on topic at a site called Cognitive Sciences, or would they pass us by. The same question could be asked about, e.g., social psychologists or related fields.

I have faith that researchers in any of our related fields would be diligent, but given our often "quick" searches for information, time may be a factor, and potential users might move on before having given us a chance.

Where does this leave us? I don't know. Maybe we are fine where we are, but I would hope we could consider a few alternatives. I don't have any concrete suggestions that I would fight for, but perhaps something like "Brain and Behavior" might fill in more corners of the the topic space.

Discussions on alternative names

What do people think of "Cognitive Science and Psychology" as a site title?

"Mind and Brain (Sciences)" as a site title

Answer 1

Thanks for posting this question. When the site just started I posted a related meta question on how we can present and brand the site so that it is perceived as inclusive to the disciplines that it covers.

Effect of site title "Cognitive Sciences"

I like the "s" at the end of "cognitive science" because it appears to suggest a plurality that reflects our site scope.

That said, I think the current title suggests that the site is about "cognitive science". In some respect the discipline of cognitive science can be seen as subsuming a wide range of other disciplines including psychology (e.g., see the Wikipedia definition as the "scientific study of the mind and its processes". However, if you have ever read a cognitive science journal or attended a cognitive science conference, you will know that the typical interests of such researchers is much narrower than the scope of this site. In particular, the majority of psychology research (i.e., anything not considered cognitive psychology) would typically not fit.

Brainstorming Alternative Titles

In my opinion, a good site title is

• Short
• Accurate in communicating scope
• Unique

The following are a few brainstormed site titles:

• Cognitive Science and Psychology: This is my favourite, I've posted a separate question explaining why I like it and seeking comments.
• Brain and Behavior or Mind, Brain, and Behavior: This is inclusive and would readily permit questions about neuroscience, but does not relate as closely to existing canonical disciplinary terms.
• Psychological Sciences: This probably has the same issue that "Cognitive Sciences" has. It's fine and good, but may reduce implicit associations with some of topics covered in cognitive science.
• Cognitive and Psychological Sciences: This is similar to "Cognitive Science and Psychology" but clarifies that the site is focussed on psychology as "science" rather than self-help and some other connotations of "psychology" on the Internet. It also retains the plural "sciences" which to me connotes the plurality to which the site aspires.

Answer 2

Like many other users, I'm constantly coming back to this topic. I think it needs some action, and soon.

I think this question has two parts that we need not confuse:

1. the URL (cogsci.stackexchange.com)
2. the headline (Cognitive Sciences)

I feel that the URL must first and foremost be short and memorable, then meaningful, and only after that may it be inclusive of all topics on the site. Personally, I don't much like "cogsci", as it is not a word or abbreviation I am familiar with. If I was unfamiliar with the site, the URL would not mean anything to me. That is bad. Bad, because users often try to infer from the URL whether they should click on it. And bad, because search engines use terms from the URL to construct page rank (if the content, name and URL of the site match, it is more on-topic and therefore relevant, than if only one of these matches the search terms). I would prefer a regular word as the subdomain name. Obvious candidates are:

• psyche.stackexchange.com
• mind.stackexchange.com
• cognition.stackexchange.com
• psychology.stackexchange.com

All other terms are too long to be useful. My favourite is "psyche", or more modern: "mind", because it is the only term that to me appears to be common to all disciplines.

Due to the specific meaning that "cognitive sciences" has as an academic discipline in my experience, the headline "Cognitive Sciences" excludes psychology from my perspective and would not motivate me to explore the site. A headline "Psychology" would do the same for people with differing interests. But then the headline does not have to be restricted to one term or discipline. There is enough space on the frontpage to have a headline like:

• Cognitive sciences, psychology and neurosciences
• Psychology, cognitive and neuro-sciences

Other orderings are possible, and these should not relate to the perceived relative importance, but to what sounds best. This headline should be as inclusive as possible without being excessive, of course. And it should name the disciplines, not give metaphors (grey matter) or areas of study (brain, behavior etc.).

Answer 3

After Chuck's comment to my answer I had the thought that maybe we're not equipped to solve this question and should pay a branding agency to come up with a corporate identity.

So I cast my vote that we each donate 50 bucks and pay a good agency to come up with something like:

• Thinkr
• Brainbook
• Dazed & Confused