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> Papers coming out of China and Taiwan need to be regarded skeptically Do we know that China and Taiwan are worse? There are scandals in the U.S. too, such as

> Papers coming out of China and Taiwan need to be regarded skeptically Do we know that China and Taiwan are worse? There are scandals in the U.S. too, such as papers funded by business interests without disclosure.

deleted 12y ago
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mikeyouse 12y ago
In many scientific fields, initial results out of China are almost entirely ignored. It might not be fair to the honest researchers, but the amount of fraud from China is staggering. This goes far beyond unclaimed conflicts of interest. Many publications have looked into the problem: [1] http://www.economist.com/news/china/21586845-flawed-system-judging-research-leading-academic-fraud-looks-good-paper http://www.economist.com/news/china/21586845-flawed-system-j... In 2010, however, Nature had also noted rising concerns about fraud in Chinese research, reporting that in one Chinese government survey, a third of more than 6,000 scientific researchers at six leading institutions admitted to plagiarism, falsification or fabrication. [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/world/asia/07fraud.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/world/asia/07fraud.html?pa... Last month a collection of scientific journals published by Zhejiang University in Hangzhou reignited the firestorm by publicizing results from a 20-month experiment with software that detects plagiarism. The software, called CrossCheck, rejected nearly a third of all submissions on suspicion that the content was pirated from previously published research. In some cases, more than 80 percent of a paper’s content was deemed unoriginal. [3] http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-12/02/china-academic-scandal http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-12/02/china-academi... "Many agencies have toll-free hotlines and customer service representatives working ten hours a day. Some even list the titles of papers for sale, or the names of journals with which they supposedly collaborate, on their websites. It's a sort of Wild West of academic publishing. You have a whole laundry list of services on offer that many scientists would probably never imagine to be possible."
- sillysaurus3 12y ago
  I wonder what the thought process is like for someone who decides to be a professional fraudster. "I'm going to spend my life pretending to be a scientist." Is it because they feel there's nothing else they could transition into, so they're forced to decide between cheating or failing? Or is it a conscious decision to cheat out of greed? What's interesting is that the sheer amount of fraud suggests that this thought process is considered at least somewhat normal by an entire society. Which societal factors could've led to this situation?
  - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
    Many frauds are fooling themselves? They believe their shoddy process is 'just as good' as real science.
  - WalterSear 12y ago
    In cultures based on conformity and ignorance, status is more important than actual achievement. That said, it's probably an more inculturated process of what the fraud being discussed in the article.
    - coldtea 12y ago
      >In cultures based on conformity and ignorance, status is more important than actual achievement. In the way that Dr. Dre is in higher regard by the majority compared to Miles Davis and Miley Cyrus compared to Grace Hopper?
      - WalterSear 12y ago
        No. In the way that villagers aspire to be people who wear fancy suits and order people about for a living.
        coldtea 12y ago
        Villagers? You mean like people from Iowa or Idaho, wanting to make it big in the big city?

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

mikeyouse 12y ago

In many scientific fields, initial results out of China are almost entirely ignored. It might not be fair to the honest researchers, but the amount of fraud from China is staggering. This goes far beyond unclaimed conflicts of interest. Many publications have looked into the problem: [1] http://www.economist.com/news/china/21586845-flawed-system-judging-research-leading-academic-fraud-looks-good-paper http://www.economist.com/news/china/21586845-flawed-system-j... In 2010, however, Nature had also noted rising concerns about fraud in Chinese research, reporting that in one Chinese government survey, a third of more than 6,000 scientific researchers at six leading institutions admitted to plagiarism, falsification or fabrication. [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/world/asia/07fraud.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/world/asia/07fraud.html?pa... Last month a collection of scientific journals published by Zhejiang University in Hangzhou reignited the firestorm by publicizing results from a 20-month experiment with software that detects plagiarism. The software, called CrossCheck, rejected nearly a third of all submissions on suspicion that the content was pirated from previously published research. In some cases, more than 80 percent of a paper’s content was deemed unoriginal. [3] http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-12/02/china-academic-scandal http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-12/02/china-academi... "Many agencies have toll-free hotlines and customer service representatives working ten hours a day. Some even list the titles of papers for sale, or the names of journals with which they supposedly collaborate, on their websites. It's a sort of Wild West of academic publishing. You have a whole laundry list of services on offer that many scientists would probably never imagine to be possible."

sillysaurus3 12y ago
I wonder what the thought process is like for someone who decides to be a professional fraudster. "I'm going to spend my life pretending to be a scientist." Is it because they feel there's nothing else they could transition into, so they're forced to decide between cheating or failing? Or is it a conscious decision to cheat out of greed? What's interesting is that the sheer amount of fraud suggests that this thought process is considered at least somewhat normal by an entire society. Which societal factors could've led to this situation?
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  Many frauds are fooling themselves? They believe their shoddy process is 'just as good' as real science.
- WalterSear 12y ago
  In cultures based on conformity and ignorance, status is more important than actual achievement. That said, it's probably an more inculturated process of what the fraud being discussed in the article.
  - coldtea 12y ago
    >In cultures based on conformity and ignorance, status is more important than actual achievement. In the way that Dr. Dre is in higher regard by the majority compared to Miles Davis and Miley Cyrus compared to Grace Hopper?
    - WalterSear 12y ago
      No. In the way that villagers aspire to be people who wear fancy suits and order people about for a living.
      - coldtea 12y ago
        Villagers? You mean like people from Iowa or Idaho, wanting to make it big in the big city?