Category: Fraud in research (July 11, 2007) These pages discuss recent examples of fraudulent research, false allegations of fraud, and the research community's efforts to reduce or eliminate fraud. Articles are arranged by date with the most recent entries at the top. You can find the theme and closely related categories and other resources at the bottom of this page.

Stats: Why we need case studies of research ethics in graphic novel format (April 3, 2008). I was asked to provide some justification for a project I am working on, case studies in research ethics using a graphic novel format. Here is what I wrote.

Stats: Illustrated case studies of research ethics and research fraud (June 11, 2007). I've written a fair number of case studies involving research ethics and research fraud for the Chance Wiki. I want to take some of this material and produce some web pages with nice illustrations that will bring these cases to life and make them more memorable. This may eventually lead to a book, but that is quite a way down the road.

Stats: Manipulation of peer-review publications by pharmaceutical companies (November 21, 2006). I volunteered to give a talk at a local hospital, and the topic I'd like to discuss is "Manipulation of peer-review publications by pharmaceutical companies." It would cover some of the same material that was highlighted in Richard Smith's article in the Public Library of Science "Medical Journals Are an Extension of the Marketing Arm of Pharmaceutical Companies."

Stats: I wasn't making up data, I was imputing! (October 25, 2006). The New York Times has an informative summary of a recent research scandal involving a prominent researcher at the University of Vermont, Eric Poehlman. The Poehlman scandal represents perhaps the biggest cases of research fraud in recent history.

Stats: Fraudulent images in research (July 12, 2006). Fraud in research is a big problem. One issue that has come up recently is that graphical images can be "Photoshopped" to present the image in a way that does not truly represent how the original research was done. Photoshop is a very useful program that can enhance images, but it must be used very carefully and with very limited objectives  There are some recently published guidelines that are worth keeping in mind.

Stats: Using a charge of fraud to achieve a political end (June 23, 2006). There was an interesting paper published recently: The 1996 Continuous Negative Extrathoracic Pressure (CNEP) trial: were parents' allegations of research fraud fraudulent? E. Hey. Pediatrics 2006: 117(6); 2244-6. The author describe a researcher who was subjected to charges of research fraud. Perhaps, though, the charges of fraud are themselves fraudulent. The motivation, the author suggests, may not have been the research itself but some additional controversial activities that the researchers were involved with.

Stats: The fate of retracted articles (October 14, 2005). A member of the Evidence Based Health email discussion group noted an interesting discussion about a recently retracted Cochrane review: "Is CybermedicineKilling You?"--The story of a Cochrane disaster. Eysenbach G, Kummervold PE. J Med Internet Res 2005: 7(2); e21. It turns out that most journals do not have a clear written policy on publishing retractions.

Stats: Dishonesty in medical research (September 15, 2005). Roy Poses, a regular contributor to the email discussion group Evidence Based Health wrote a provocative email pointing out the manipulation of research, ghost-writing, and suppression of research that is being done to support the marketing of unsafe and/or ineffective drugs.

Stats: Allegations of scientific misconduct (August 1, 2005). A recent email in the IRBForum highlight allegations of scientific misconduct and cites a news report in BMJ, Researcher to be sacked after reporting high rates of ADHD. Lenzer J. Bmj 2005: 330(7493); 691. This report describes, Dr. Gretchen LeFever, a researcher at East Virginia Medical School, who is being fired. Dr. LeFever has published controversial research on the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) disorders in children. The article describes an allegation that may have lead to her firing.

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Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. It was written by Steve Simon on 2007-07-11, edited by Steve Simon, and was last modified on 2008-04-03. Send feedback to ssimon at cmh dot edu or click on the email link at the top of the page.