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De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Monday, October 24, 2022

‘Publish or Perish’: Academics Pumping Out Trivial Research for the Sake of the Dollar

 
In a 2015 piece for Time magazine, writer Jeffrey Klugerin listed the ten most ridiculous scientific studies.  Hilarious examples include: “Quitting smoking after heart attack reduces chest pain, improves quality of life,” “Statistical analysis reveals Mexican drug war increased homicide rates,” and “Scientists discover a difference between the sexes.”  It is concerning that research grants—taxpayers’ money—are frequently allocated to weird and undeserving projects. This concern is exacerbated if the research topic is utterly ridiculous or fails the test of societal impact.

Even if research studies are, at least potentially, meaningful from a social perspective, they are frequently so badly written that it becomes impossible to gauge their societal impact.   In this context, the Research Impact Principles outlined by the Australian Research Council (ARC) are refreshing because they acknowledge that valuable research must have societal benefits..............To Read More....

My Take - It's been said that government grant money has made scientific integrity an oxymoron, and truth was no longer the holy grail of science. Now the holy grail of science is grant money.  When science becomes rich it becomes politics.   

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