Error and Fraud
The Dark Side of Biomedical Research
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Error and Fraud: The Dark Side of Biomedical Research
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Book Description
This fascinating book gives readers an appreciation of how biomedical research should work and how the reality is all too often seriously flawed. Explaining the logical basis of the different research approaches used by biomedical research scientists and their relative merits, it will help readers to make more realistic appraisal of media reports linking aspects of lifestyle, environment or diet to health outcomes and thus judge whether such claims are a real effect worthy of consideration for behavior change or deserving of further research resources.
Key features:
- increases awareness of research fraud and some of the characteristics of fraudulent science and scientific fraudsters
- shows that whilst outright fraud may be uncommon, fudging of results to help achieve statistical significance may be more prevalent
- incorporates real-life case studies highlighting some of the infamous cases of research fraud and major scientific mistakes and the impact that they have had
- provides a convenient overview of the research process in the biomedical sciences, with a focus on research strategy rather than individual methods
- find supplemental detail on the author’s blog https://drgeoffnutrition.wordpress.com/about/
By raising awareness of the possibility that research data may have been dishonestly generated and outlining some of the signs and symptoms that might suggest data fabrication, Error and Fraud: The Dark Side of Biomedical Research will help students and researchers to identify the strengths and limitations of different research approaches and allow them to make a realistic evaluations of their own and others’ research findings.
Table of Contents
Preface
Prologue- An overview of the aims, origins and structure of this book
Chapter 1 – Research strategies in the biomedical sciences
The use of statistics
The range and classification of available methods
Observational human studies
Animal and in vitro experiments
Human experimental studies
Meta-analysis
Decision making and hierarchies of evidence
Key references
Chapter 2 – Case studies of scientific errors
Case study 1 - Sleeping position and cot death
Case study 2 - The Protein Gap
Case study 3 -Defective brown fat thermogenesis as an important cause of obesity
Case study 4 - Antioxidants supplements to increase life expectancy
Key references
Chapter 3 - More general concerns about scientific credibility
Are most published research findings wrong?
An avalanche of junk papers
Why is so much published data irreproducible?
Is all published research useful?
Key references
Chapter 4 - The accused – case studies of scientists accused of research misconduct
Jatinder Ahluwalia
Werner Bezwoda
Joachim Boldt
Stephen Breuning
Michael Briggs
Sir Cyril Burt
Ranjit Kumar Chandra
Dipak Kumar Das
Charles Dawson
Yoshitaka Fujii
Viswa Jit Gupta
John William Heslop Harrison
Paul Kammerer
Gregor Mendel
Haruko Obokata
J Malcolm Pearce
Scott S Reuben
Ram Bahadur Singh
Diederik Stapel
Jon Sudbo
William Talley Summerlin
Andrew Wakefield
Minor case studies
Chapter 5 - Research fraud overview
Basic definitions
How common is research fraud?
The harm done by research fraud – why it matters
The publication process: how is the accuracy and integrity of the scientific record maintained?
Key references
Chapter 6 – Protection – barriers to the publication of fraudulent data
Author level barriers
Peer review by co-authors, referees and editors
Key references
Chapter 7 – Detection: identifying fraud after publication
Faith in the efficacy of peer review and replication
Encouraging and protecting potential whistle-blowers
Reader scrutiny
Indicators of fraudulent papers and fraudulent scientists
Key references
Chapter 8 – Disinfection and measures for minimising the impact of research fraud
Disinfection overview
One confirmed act of fraud should trigger a wider investigation
Who should investigate accusations of research fraud?
Indications that data has been fabricated
Interviews with co-authors
Life after death – continuing influence of retracted papers
What can be done to improve the situation?
Key references
INDEX
Author(s)
Biography
Dr Geoffrey P Webb (BSc MSc PHd SFHEA) is Senior Lecturer at the University of East London and one of the UK’s leading experts on Nutrition.