Theme hospital research stuck11/29/2023 And they are a valuable starting point for a deeper look at dysfunction in science today. Many of the responses did, however, vividly illustrate the challenges and perverse incentives that scientists across fields face. For one, the respondents disproportionately hailed from the biomedical and social sciences and English-speaking communities. In our survey and interviews, they offered a wide variety of ideas for improving the scientific process and bringing it closer to its ideal form.īefore we jump in, some caveats to keep in mind: Our survey was not a scientific poll. They are going through a period of introspection, hopeful that the end result will yield stronger scientific institutions. They want to break this cycle of perverse incentives and rewards. To Smaldino, the selection pressures in science have favored less-than-ideal research: "As long as things like publication quantity, and publishing flashy results in fancy journals are incentivized, and people who can do that are rewarded … they’ll be successful, and pass on their successful methods to others." "Over time the most successful people will be those who can best exploit the system," Paul Smaldino, a cognitive science professor at University of California Merced, says. It’s a nagging whisper, like a Jedi’s path to the dark side. And the phrase "publish or perish" hangs over nearly every decision. So instead, they’re incentivized to generate positive results they can publish. But failed studies can mean career death. Scientists often learn more from studies that fail. Noah Grand, former lecturer in sociology, UCLA "Is the point of research to make other professional academics happy, or is it to learn more about the world?" It's instead measured by how much grant money they win, the number of studies they publish, and how they spin their findings to appeal to the public. Today, scientists' success often isn't measured by the quality of their questions or the rigor of their methods. "I feel torn between asking questions that I know will lead to statistical significance and asking questions that matter," says Kathryn Bradshaw, a 27-year-old graduate student of counseling at the University of North Dakota. Scientists say they’re forced to prioritize self-preservation over pursuing the best questions and uncovering meaningful truths. So did the rocket scientists behind the moon landing.īut nowadays, our respondents told us, the process is riddled with conflict. Science is rarely practiced to that ideal. The scientific process, in its ideal form, is elegant: Ask a question, set up an objective test, and get an answer. They told us that, in a variety of ways, their careers are being hijacked by perverse incentives. We heard back from 270 scientists all over the world, including graduate students, senior professors, laboratory heads, and Fields Medalists. So we sent scientists a survey asking this simple question: If you could change one thing about how science works today, what would it be and why? Life as a young academic is incredibly stressfulĪs reporters covering medicine, psychology, climate change, and other areas of research, we wanted to understand this epidemic of doubt.Too much science is locked behind paywalls.Replicating results is crucial - and rare.Explore the biggest challenges facing science, and how we can fix them:
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