7-2021 Science.org: Dutch scientists regularly engage in questionable research practices & one in 12 admitted to committing fraud

Special precautions were taken to guarantee the anonymity of respondents in the largest study of its kind to date.

https://www.science.org/content/article/landmark-research-integrity-survey-finds-questionable-practices-are-surprisingly-common

Damn, I wish I had included this in yesterday’s popular post FDA media arm-twisting, big pharma corrupting medical research, flagrant conflicts of interest...

Here are some of the key points (my bold):

More than half of Dutch scientists regularly engage in questionable research practices, such as hiding flaws in their research design or selectively citing literature, according to a new study. And one in 12 admitted to committing a more serious form of research misconduct within the past 3 years: the fabrication or falsification of research results.

This rate of 8% for outright fraud was more than double that reported in previous studies. Organizers of the Dutch National Survey on Research Integrity the largest of its kind to date, took special precautions to guarantee the anonymity of respondents for these sensitive questions[…]

Although the 51% figure for questionable research practices exceeded that found by previous surveys, it could still be an underestimate, says Daniele Fanelli, a research ethicist at the London School of Economics who was not involved in the study. The survey defined these practices unambiguously, in a way that left no room for participants to think the practices might be okay. “As a result, it is possible that participants were less likely to answer honestly,” Fanelli says.

— https://www.science.org/content/article/landmark-research-integrity-survey-finds-questionable-practices-are-surprisingly-common