Misplaced Faith. Nature 522(7554):6.
Misplaced Faith [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
The public trusts scientists much more than scientists think. But should it? [Excerpt] [... A] poll by Ipsos MORI this year showed that scientists are among the most trusted professionals in Britain; some nine in ten people said that they trust scientists to follow all of the research rules and regulations relevant to them. How many scientists would say the same? Not many, probably, of the attendees at this week's 4th World Conference on Research Integrity in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As we report on page 14, attendees at the weekend discussed the latest high-profile case of scandal, fraud allegations and retraction. [...] [\n] And although high-profile fraud makes headlines, a broader and more common set of unappealing behaviours – from corner-cutting to data-juggling – lie under the surface. Convention says that a tiny minority of scientists cheats, yet academics and researchers frequently make the case that irregularities are widespread. A 2014 survey of hundreds of economists, for example, found that 94\,% admitted to having engaged in at least one ” unaccepted” research practice (S. Necker Res. Policy 43, 1747-1759; 2014). [\n] Just like with British chemistry, it seems that the wider public's view of science and research is rosier than that of many people who are directly involved. For how long can this continue?
@article{natureMisplacedFaith2015,
  title = {Misplaced Faith},
  author = {{Nature}},
  date = {2015-06},
  journaltitle = {Nature},
  volume = {522},
  pages = {6},
  issn = {0028-0836},
  doi = {10.1038/522006a},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/522006a},
  abstract = {The public trusts scientists much more than scientists think. But should it?

[Excerpt] [... A] poll by Ipsos MORI this year showed that scientists are among the most trusted professionals in Britain; some nine in ten people said that they trust scientists to follow all of the research rules and regulations relevant to them. How many scientists would say the same? Not many, probably, of the attendees at this week's 4th World Conference on Research Integrity in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As we report on page 14, attendees at the weekend discussed the latest high-profile case of scandal, fraud allegations and retraction. [...]

[\textbackslash n] And although high-profile fraud makes headlines, a broader and more common set of unappealing behaviours -- from corner-cutting to data-juggling -- lie under the surface. Convention says that a tiny minority of scientists cheats, yet academics and researchers frequently make the case that irregularities are widespread. A 2014 survey of hundreds of economists, for example, found that 94\,\% admitted to having engaged in at least one ” unaccepted” research practice (S. Necker Res. Policy 43, 1747-1759; 2014).

[\textbackslash n] Just like with British chemistry, it seems that the wider public's view of science and research is rosier than that of many people who are directly involved. For how long can this continue?},
  keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-13639734,~to-add-doi-URL,communicating-uncertainty,epistemology,publish-or-perish,research-management,research-metrics,science-ethics,science-society-interface,scientific-communication},
  number = {7554}
}

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