New survey: Over half of researchers in Denmark and an international sample from Britain, America, Croatia, and Austria anonymously admitted that they:
- Cite papers they don't read
- Cite irrelevant papers
- Don't put in effort in peer review
- Misreport nonsignificant findings
- Cite papers they don't read
- Cite irrelevant papers
- Don't put in effort in peer review
- Misreport nonsignificant findings
In another set of questions, the Danish researchers were asked to report their prevalence of engaging in questionable research practices in recent publications and what they estimated it was across the field.
Unless they undersold their prevalence, they were pessimistic.
Unless they undersold their prevalence, they were pessimistic.
When the international sample was asked to do the same thing, they were also pessimistic.
The survey also included a section where they looked at predictors of scientists engaging in questionable research practices (QRPs), and they found that
- Pressure predicts QRPs
- Local culture and career length relate to fewer QRPs
- Not much else?
- Pressure predicts QRPs
- Local culture and career length relate to fewer QRPs
- Not much else?
Overall, in this exclusively Western sample of researchers, QRPs were highly prevalent. Most of the time, the ones that were common were not severe, but they should still be cause for alarm, because they suggest researchers are inattentive.
Researchers also understate the amount of fraud and QRPs they're engaging in, so consider these estimates a lower-bound on the actual level, and the "perceived" estimates as not-quite-as-pessimistic-as-shown.
To learn more, go check out the study. It just came out a few days ago: journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…
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