Research Ethics

Unknown Unknowns: The War on Null and Negative Results
Research
September 19, 2014

Unknown Unknowns: The War on Null and Negative Results

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Myers-Briggs at Work? Might Be a Terrible Idea (MBTI)
Public Policy
September 8, 2014

Myers-Briggs at Work? Might Be a Terrible Idea (MBTI)

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The Risks–Both Serious and Subtle–of Fieldwork
Research
August 27, 2014

The Risks–Both Serious and Subtle–of Fieldwork

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European Scientists Fear Data Protection Overreach
International Debate
August 15, 2014

European Scientists Fear Data Protection Overreach

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Replication Is More Common, But Still Too Rare

Replication Is More Common, But Still Too Rare

A study of the 100 top journals in education research found that there’s still almost no effort made to replicate the findings they publish.

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A Social Science Audit for Facebook’s News Feed?

A Social Science Audit for Facebook’s News Feed?

How can the public learn the role of algorithms in their daily lives, evaluating the law and ethicality of systems like the Facebook News Feed, search engines, or airline booking systems? Earlier this month Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society hosted a conversation about the idea of social science audits of algorithms, and J. Nathan Matias reports on the discourse.

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Economists Behaving Badly Linked to Pressure to Publish

Economists Behaving Badly Linked to Pressure to Publish

Sarah Necker describes her landmark study on economists’ research norms and practices and finds that while we all agree that fabrication, falsification and plagiarism are bad, a few academics admit they have accepted or offered gifts, money, or sex in exchange for co-authorship, data or promotion.

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On the Ethics of Facebook – and Drawing the Right Conclusions

On the Ethics of Facebook – and Drawing the Right Conclusions

What does the Facebook emotional contagion study really tells us about research ethics? Perhaps, argues Robert Dingwall, that its time to deregulate public social science.

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What Do Rising Retraction Rates Mean for Peer Review?

What Do Rising Retraction Rates Mean for Peer Review?

Could the increasing number of retractions in quality journals be a sign that its time to embrace post-publication open evaluation as a corrective to pre-publication peer review?

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No Longer the Age of Consent: Facebook’s Emotional Manipulation Study

No Longer the Age of Consent: Facebook’s Emotional Manipulation Study

Facebook’s unannounced study using its users’ newsfeeds offers a case study in research ethics: where did it lie of the spectrum from ‘ho harm, no foul’ or to an unacceptable violation of participants’ rights? Ethicist David Hunter examines.

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To Err Is Human, To Study Errors Is Science

To Err Is Human, To Study Errors Is Science

The possible retraction of a high profile paper in the medical sciences offers a teachable moment about replication, peer review, cognitive bias and the beauty and beastliness that can be science.

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Tamiflu and the Ethics of the British Medical Journal

Tamiflu and the Ethics of the British Medical Journal

No one expected Tamiflu to be a wonder drug, but indications are that it’s moderately useful in fighting a serious public health threat. But that message was lost last week in an ill-starred rush to beat up on ‘wicked’ Big Pharma, argues Robert Dingwall.

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