University Responsibility For The Adjudication Of Research Misconduct: The Science Bubble

Foreword......Page 5
Acknowledgments......Page 15
Contents......Page 16
List of Figures......Page 20
Chapter 1: Evolution in a Test Tube......Page 23
1.1 Loopholes in Peer Review and Federal Regulations Enable Publication of Falsified Data......Page 32
1.2 A Flawed Experimental Design: Mutually Incompatible Solutions......Page 39
1.3 Electron Microscopy Data Show that the Hexagons Are Not “Metallic Palladium”......Page 43
1.4 Scientific Corroboration: The Gold Standard......Page 44
Chapter 2: The Clash Between Scientific Skepticism and Ethics Regulations......Page 47
2.1 The Controversial Nature of Scientific Fraud......Page 50
2.2 Failure of Referee Review of Journal Articles and Academic Self-policing......Page 53
2.3 The Advent of Federal Regulations and Their Reliance on Adjudication by Universities......Page 54
2.5 Skepticism Regarding Allegations of Falsification......Page 58
2.6 Skepticism of a Motive for Falsification and the Suspicion of a Motive for Revenge......Page 60
Chapter 3: Scientific Discoveries: Real and Imagined......Page 63
3.1 The Evolution of Science and the Science of Evolution......Page 65
3.2 A Hierarchy of Methods: The Role of Proofs, Logic and Statistics in Various Fields......Page 68
3.3 The Role of Statistics in Evaluation of Scientific Data and Hypotheses......Page 70
3.4 Confirmation Bias: Seeing What You Want to See......Page 74
3.5 The Descent of the Philosophy of Science from Rationalism to Relativism......Page 75
3.6 The History of Scientific Progress and Acceptance of New Ideas......Page 77
3.7 Black Boxes: The Abuse of Technology......Page 82
3.8 The Sociology of Science: From “Follow the Data” to “Follow the Money”......Page 83
3.9 The Marketing of Science and Scientific Branding......Page 85
Chapter 4: The Corporate University......Page 88
4.1 The University Funding Model......Page 90
4.2 The Birth of Entrepreneurship in the University System......Page 94
4.3 The Transition of the University Administration to Corporate Status......Page 98
4.4 The Ethical Challenge Posed by Institutional Marketing of Science......Page 99
Chapter 5: The Institutional Pressure to Become a Professor-Entrepreneur......Page 104
5.1 The Changing Nature of the Reward System in Science......Page 105
5.2 Academic Stars and Perverse Incentives......Page 106
5.3 The Consequences of Promoting Professorial Patenting......Page 111
5.4 Crossing the Commercialization Desert: How Many Academic Startups Lose Their Way?......Page 115
5.5 Commercialization Guided by Hype Can Lead to Fraud......Page 116
Chapter 6: The Short Path from Wishful Thinking to Scientific Fraud......Page 119
6.1 The Pervasiveness of Bias in Science......Page 120
6.2 Poor Methodology: Cherry Picking, Inadequate Controls and Failure to Replicate......Page 121
6.3 Abuse of Statistics: Hypothesizing after the Fact, Data Dredging and Ignoring Outliers......Page 123
6.4 When Does Self-Delusion Become Intent to Deceive?......Page 128
6.5 Retractions as a Symptom of the Problem......Page 132
6.6 The Rise of Search Engines and the Fall of Plagiarism......Page 133
6.7 What Lies Behind the Reproducibility Crisis?......Page 134
6.8 Self-Policing of Science on the Internet......Page 137
6.9 The Role of Research Group Culture and the Responsibility for Misrepresentation......Page 138
6.10 The Scientific Establishment in Denial......Page 141
Chapter 7: University Administration of Scientific Ethics......Page 146
7.1 The Discovery of Discrepancies Between Laboratory Results and Published Statements......Page 147
7.2 The Research Misconduct Investigation into the Hexagon Case......Page 150
7.3 The Deficiencies of Federal Research Misconduct Regulations......Page 155
7.4 Legal Threats and Administrative Actions to Prevent Correction of Journal Articles......Page 157
7.5 Public Records According to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)......Page 159
7.6 A Confidential Research Misconduct Investigation Can Turn Scientific Fact into Opinion......Page 162
Chapter 8: Behind the Façade of Self-Correcting Science......Page 165
8.1 The Self-Correction Myth Reduces Pressure to Investigate Research Ethics......Page 166
8.2 The Failure of Self-Correction in The Hexagon Case......Page 168
8.3 The Changing Attitudes Toward Data Sharing......Page 169
Chapter 9: The Origin of the Modern Research Misconduct System......Page 171
9.1 The Baltimore Case......Page 172
9.2 Consequences of the Baltimore Case......Page 174
9.3 The Path to Federal Oversight of Research Ethics......Page 176
9.4 The Handling of Evidence in Research Misconduct Cases......Page 177
9.5 The Constitution of an Inquiry or Investigation Committee......Page 178
9.6 The Handling of Allegations in Research Misconduct Cases......Page 180
9.7 Punishment in the Research Misconduct System......Page 181
9.8 Ambiguity in Legal Definitions in Research Misconduct Regulation......Page 182
Chapter 10: Sunshine Laws and the Smokescreen of Confidentiality......Page 185
10.2 The Futility of Confidentiality as a Protection for Either Informant or Respondent......Page 186
10.3 The Perverse Use of Confidentiality by Institutions for Their Own Protection......Page 189
10.4 Confidentiality Hinders Adjudication of Research Misconduct......Page 190
10.5 Public Records Lawsuits as a Remedy for Violations of Whistleblower Rights......Page 191
10.6 The Confidentiality Smokescreen Protects the University Administration......Page 193
Chapter 11: The Legal Repercussions of Institutional Conflict of Interest......Page 195
11.1 The Pragmatic Approach to Ethics in Modern Universities......Page 196
11.2 The Covert Power of Legal Threats in a Research University......Page 197
11.3 The Vulnerability of Post-Bayh-Dole Universities to Intellectual Property Lawsuits......Page 199
11.4 The Situation of Private Universities......Page 200
11.5 University Conflicts of Interest......Page 201
11.6 Universities Adjudicating Their Own Ethics: The Fox Guarding the Henhouse......Page 203
11.7 The University Lobby......Page 206
12.1 The Unfunded Mandate for Research Ethics......Page 208
12.2 The Need for Checks and Balances in Ethics Regulation......Page 209
12.3 Will Transparency in Ethics Help or Hurt the Public Perception of Science?......Page 210
12.4 Band Aids: Stricter Peer Review and Tougher Journal Standards......Page 212
12.5 Proposal for a National Research Ethics Oversight Council (NREOC)......Page 215
12.6 How Can We Deflate the Science Bubble?......Page 216
Appendix A: Chronology of Events......Page 218
Appendix B: List of Abbreviations......Page 219
References......Page 220