Why False Positive Results Are Harmful to Scientific Research?
Who are We Researching for?
If research is conducted in the name of discovery and improving human wellbeing, shouldn’t the benchmark for ‘successful’ research incorporate the same…
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Understanding Ethics
Resourceful articles on research and publication ethics
What You Need to Know about Scientific Misconduct?
Although there are many researchers who are deeply committed to the highest standard of ethics, there are others who take advantage of the system and engage in scientific…
What Happens When Someone Fails to Reproduce My Research Study?
When you are conducting research under the pressure to "publish or perish," the likelihood that your findings will not be reproducible at the first attempt. The chances of such an…
Why Should You Replicate Research Data with Caution in Your Research Study?
Are We Obsessed with Applied Research?
The debate between the respective merits of basic or pure research and applied research is a heated one, especially when research budgets…
Should Whistleblowers in Academic Research Be Financially Rewarded
Lincoln’s Law
The False Claims Act, also known as “Lincoln’s Law” after the President who signed the legislation into law during the Civil War, was written to curb the rampant…
The Role of COPE in Research and Publication Ethics
COPE was established as a registered charity in the United Kingdom in October 2007, after a decade of growth from an informal gathering of concerned editors in 1997. It is funded…
Retraction Watch: Reports on Retractions of Scientific Papers
Retraction: A Sanction of Last Resort
When an academic journal formally retracts an article, it is considered one of the most serious acts that can be taken against an author or…
How Rare is Scientific Misconduct?
Assessing how rare scientific misconduct might be within the broader scientific research community would be virtually impossible. A scientific misconduct cannot be identified until…
Scientific Misconduct: Why Do Researchers Cheat?
How Do Scientists Cheat?
Academic fraud can be broken down into three categories:
Plagiarism – the use of a colleague’s work without clear attribution and citation.…
The Consequences of Flawed Research
Flawed research, as opposed to deliberately fraudulent research, can be looked at from several angles:
The original identification of the topic can be based on a poor…
When Science Gets Misused
Only a Representative Sample
Students of research methodology and statistical analysis are very familiar with the importance of working with a study sample that can claim to be…
Has Research Become Too Competitive?
The Rise of Careerism
Research scientists are supposed to look somewhat ‘nerdy’ in their lab coats and unfashionable glasses that they raise above their furrowed brows from time…