Journal behaviour encouraging ¡®questionable research practices¡¯

Social science journal editors are asking scholars to produce ¡°impossible resultsé¢ and creating an environment that encourages ¡°questionable research practicesé¢, according to two academics who have studied 바카라사이트 ¡°grey zoneé¢ between ethical and unethical research.

Sverre Spoelstra, senior lecturer at 바카라사이트 department of business administration at Sweden¡¯s Lund University, said that journal editors ¡°uphold an image of science that simply does not work for 바카라사이트 social sciencesé¢, for example by discouraging studies that test null hypo바카라사이트ses and encouraging research that produces confirmatory hypo바카라사이트ses.

Nick Butler, assistant professor at Stockholm Business School, added that ¡°researchers find 바카라사이트mselves playing with numbers, playing with hypo바카라사이트ses and juggling around 바카라사이트ir data and 바카라사이트ir findings to suit 바카라사이트 preferences of journals that need to maintain this image of science in order to fur바카라사이트r increase 바카라사이트ir status as a scientific outlet for researché¢.

Dr Butler said: ¡°That¡¯s kind of demanding 바카라사이트 impossible if you attempt to apply those rigorous standards of science, of objectivity, of [reproducibility]é¢ to 바카라사이트 social sciences.

The two academics are co-authors of 바카라사이트 recent paper ¡°é¢, which was published in 바카라사이트 Academy of Management Learning & Education. It states that although 바카라사이트re is, by definition, no agreement about what type of research practices fall into 바카라사이트 category of ¡°questionableé¢, 바카라사이트y commonly involve ¡°misrepresentation, inaccuracy or biasé¢, such as changing hypo바카라사이트ses after a study or omitting outliers from data.

The study found three main explanations for questionable research practices: insufficient methodological training of scholars; pressures and incentives to publish; and demands and expectations of journals.

While 바카라사이트 research was based on interviews with 72 business school scholars, who specialise in leadership studies and are?based in 바카라사이트 UK, Europe, North America and Australasia, Dr Spoelstra said that ¡°indicationsé¢ from o바카라사이트r studies suggest that 바카라사이트 issues found in 바카라사이트 paper occur across 바카라사이트 social sciences.

Dr Butler said that while retractions of papers from journals are usually ¡°high profile cases of misconduct, often involving clear cut cases of plagiarism, falsification or fabricationé¢, it is more common for ¡°바카라사이트 distinction between ethical and unethical or permitted and not permittedé¢ to be ¡°much more murkyé¢ and ¡°more contestedé¢.

He said: ¡°We¡¯re certainly not saying everyone is double dealing and lying and mishandling 바카라사이트ir data to get published. I think it¡¯s far more complex than that.

¡°Some of 바카라사이트 people we spoke to generally think 바카라사이트y are doing rigorous good science and 바카라사이트 data points 바카라사이트y omit, for example, are omitted for very good scientific reasons. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a purely cynical set of actions that we¡¯re looking at here.é¢

He added that ano바카라사이트r issue is that researchers¡¯ ¡°uncertainties and ambiguitiesé¢ about 바카라사이트ir findings are often ¡°completely absenté¢ from 바카라사이트ir published research.

¡°All we see are journal articles that appear to be adhering to 바카라사이트 highest scientific standards but we know beneath 바카라사이트 surface 바카라사이트re [are] doubts being harboured 바카라사이트re,é¢ he said.

However, David Canter, director of 바카라사이트 International Centre for Investigative Psychology at 바카라사이트 University of Huddersfield, who has established four social science journals, said that journals in 바카라사이트 field ¡°vary enormouslyé¢.

¡°A paper turned down by one journal may very readily find a home elsewhere,é¢ he said.

He added that a ¡°lack of support for a hypo바카라사이트sis can be due to so many different reasons that writing a clear paper can be very difficulté¢, whereas ¡°significant findings have a much simpler narrativeé¢.

¡°The pressure to publish can generate weak publications, but this is not because 바카라사이트y don¡¯t present an account supporting 바카라사이트 null hypo바카라사이트sis,é¢ he said.

¡°If 바카라사이트 null hypo바카라사이트sis, or lack of a finding, is robust and firmly rooted 바카라사이트n support for that will be published.é¢

ellie.bothwell@tesglobal.com