Fake News! The rise of fake research and other research issues.
The proliferation of fake research for profit has become problematic. While there was always issues before with research the internet, AI, and profit motive are driving fake research like never before. Reputable journals can be found but it is impossible for the layperson to know what is what.
Research today
Most research today is likely false according to Ioannidis 2005. Citation bias is making it difficult to find negative results as positive results are both more likely to get into publication than negative results and more likely to be cited.
Tools aiding research and combating false research
Pubpeer allows researches to comment on research articles. It acts as a whistleblowers website.
Informed Health Choices framework attempts to teach kids how to determine if treatment claims are legitimate.
Top articles from JOE Ahmad JOE 2020
How judge risk of bias in RCT with Cochrane bias tools.
A list of predatory journals from Jeffery Beall. These predatory journals are causing issues even in the most prestigious journals.
Interpretation of data is problematic
The findings of this study are unsettling. Breznau 2021 found that offering the same data and hypothesis to 73 different research teams “led to substantial variation in statistical estimates and substantive conclusion.” There were no incentive to shape outcome in this study, unlike most research. Unfortunately they found “even highly skilled scientists motivated to come to accurate results varied tremendously in what they found based on the same provided data and hypothesis; and there were no consequential factors across research processes that can explain this.”
Selective outcome reporting
Selective outcome reporting (SOR) refers to a type of bias where only a subset of the outcomes measured and analyzed in a study are reported, often based on the magnitude of the treatment effect or the statistical significance of the selected outcomes.Registering RCTs would help reduce this but that is not happening in high numbers. Vitali JOE 2025
Problems are difficult to fix
If you are the type of researcher going after the bad actors, you’re going to make enemies. That takes a toll on people, especially if the field is small or highly specialized. This limits the amount of challenges to results that one would hope to see. Journals and universiteis or research centers don’t want to hear about it, thus people become disenfranchised and give up. Reminds me a bit Atlas Shrugged. Great minds give up the fight. Not to mention the legal risk of challenging research.
Another issue is Brandolini’s law. It simply takes far more effort to overcome the false claims.
Replication Crisis
We publish proven false claims MORE than proven claims. Serra-Garcia 2021