3 ms·
Just to clarify, I think fabricated data in top biology and medicine journals is relatively rare because it's typically high-throughput data, and you must archi
by nextos 1y ago
Just to clarify, I think fabricated data in top biology and medicine journals is relatively rare because it's typically high-throughput data, and you must archive it. It's just too much trouble to fake that.
However, another equally damaging form of fraud, cherry-picking data and manipulating statistical inference is common. I think the reason is that it's much simpler to get the results you want this way, and you are much less likely to get caught.
Previously, fake data was common, e.g. in the form of fabricated Western blots, as it has been proven by large-scale image analyses conducted by sleuths. I imagine similar forms of fraud are still frequent in other disciplines or in domains that generate low-throughput data, such as some clinical trials.