Is Most Published Research Really False?
Posted: 21 Mar 2017
Date Written: March 2017
Abstract
There has been an increasing concern in both the scientific and lay communities that most published medical findings are false. But what does it mean to be false? Here we describe the range of definitions of false discoveries in the scientific literature. We summarize the philosophical, statistical, and experimental evidence for each type of false discovery. We discuss common underpinning problems with the scientific and data analytic practices and point to tools and behaviors that can be implemented to reduce the problems with published scientific results.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Leek, Jeffrey T. and Jager, Leah R., Is Most Published Research Really False? (March 2017). Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 109-122, 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2937743 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-statistics-060116-054104
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