Predatory Publishers: The Journals That Churn out Fake Science
A Guardian investigation, in collaboration with German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk, reveals the open-access publishers who accept any article submitted for a fee.
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Tokyo Medical School Admits Changing Results to Exclude Women
Tokyo Medical School Admits Changing Results to Exclude Women
University manipulated test scores for more than a decade to ensure more men became doctors.
Plan to Replicate 50 High-Impact Cancer Papers Shrinks to Just 18
An ambitious project that set out nearly 5 years ago to replicate experiments from 50 high-impact cancer biology papers, but gradually shrank that number, now expects to complete just 18 studies.
Of Oaths and Checklists
Oaths have their value, but checklists will help put principles into practice.
The 'Loss of Confidence Project' Offers Scientists a Place to Confess
What are researchers to do when they lose confidence in their previously published work? A new project has an answer. Will it help the replication crisis?
China to Crack down on Fraud in Scandal-Hit Scientific Research
China to Crack down on Fraud in Scandal-Hit Scientific Research
New national guidelines spell out punishment for plagiarism, fabrication of data and research conclusions, ghostwriting and peer review manipulation.
Open Science and Its Role in Universities: A Roadmap for Cultural Change
Open Science and Its Role in Universities: A Roadmap for Cultural Change
LERU's paper discussing the eight pillars of Open Science identified by the European Commission: the future of scholarly publishing, FAIR data, the European Open Science Cloud, education and skills, rewards and incentives, next-generation metrics, research integrity, and citizen science.
PSI: Investigation into Violation of Research Integrity Is Concluded
In June 2017, PSI was made aware of allegations that members of its staff had submitted an article containing aspects of scientific misconduct to a scientific journal. A preliminary review by experts showed that the allegations raised were solid.
Repeat Offenders: When Scientific Fraudsters Slip Through the Cracks
Balancing due process with the academic community's right to know is no easy task, but critics say more could be done to weed out bad actors. Many universities halt investigations after an accused scientist departs, leaving future employers blind to the researcher’s history of allegations.
20th Anniversary of the Andrew Wakefield Vaccine Fraud - No Celebrations
A bit over 20 years ago, in February 1998, Andrew Wakefield published his infamous article in Lancet, which was eventually retracted in 2010. He stated that "onset of behavioural symptoms was associated, by the parents, with measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination in eight of the 12 children."
Our Survey Found 'Questionable Research Practices' by Ecologists and Biologists – Here's What That Means
Our Survey Found 'Questionable Research Practices' by Ecologists and Biologists – Here's What That Means
Questionable research practices are not fraud, and they're not cause for panic. But they do give us some hints about how we can make science more robust.
Using Software to Fight Cancer Research Fraud
After discovering a pattern of fraudulent papers from China, an Australian oncologist aims to expand her watchdog project and keep the retractions coming.
The Proposal to Lower P Value Thresholds to .005
John Ioannidis discusses the potential effects on clinical research of a 2017 proposal to lower the default P value threshold for statistical significance from .05 to .005 as a means to reduce false-positive findings.
Is Science Really Facing a Reproducibility Crisis, and Do We Need It To?
Are Research Papers Less Accurate and Truthful Than in the Past?
That's a myth, as Daniele Fanelli of the London School of Economics suggests in this week’s PNAS.
Preprints and Citations: Should Non-Peer Reviewed Material Be Included in Article References?
Preprints and Citations: Should Non-Peer Reviewed Material Be Included in Article References?
Should we treat preprints the same way that we treat reviewed and published material? If so, how can we make that clear to readers?
Institutional Research Misconduct Reports Need More Credibility
On the inadequacy and lack of transparency of most research institutions’ responses to allegations of research misconduct.
The Preregistration Revolution
Widespread adoption of preregistration will increase distinctiveness between hypothesis generation and hypothesis testing and will improve the credibility of research findings.
When Splashy Headlines Become the Goal of Science, the Process Suffers
Internal and external pressure drive a rush toward prestige.
Scientists and Journalists Square Off Over 'Getting it Right'
Some scientists say they should have the right to review stories in which their work or words are covered prior to publication. Journalists disagree.
20 Years Ago, Research Fraud Catalyzed the Anti-Vaccination Movement. Let’s Not Repeat History.
20 Years Ago, Research Fraud Catalyzed the Anti-Vaccination Movement. Let’s Not Repeat History.
How Andrew Wakefield’s shoddy science fueled autism-vaccine fears.
Researchers Have Finally Created a Tool to Spot Duplicated Images Across Thousands of Papers
Researchers Have Finally Created a Tool to Spot Duplicated Images Across Thousands of Papers
Publishers would need to join forces to apply image-checking software across the literature.
Decentralizing Science
The case for decentralized, trusted platforms for the dissemination of scientific information and attribution.
Meet the 'Data Thugs' out to Expose Shoddy and Questionable Research
Striking success has been had in catalyzing retractions by publicly calling out perplexing data and spotting anomalies in the literature.
Overselling Results is a Problem in Science
Climate skeptics, conspiracy theorists, and the anti-immunization movement are on the rise. At the same time, fraudulent research and issues with the replicability of scientific results prompt the question if science is still a reliable source for political decision-making.
Real Heroes Have the Guts to Admit They're Wrong
Science, it turns out, is an excellent place to find such people. After all, the scientific method requires you to recognize when you’re wrong - to do so happily, in fact. The story of Daniel Bolnick, an evolutionary biologist who had the courage to recognize his mistake.
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