Scientists offered €1,000 to publish null results

German research institute aims to reshape academic incentives with cash bonuses

February 12, 2020
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A German research institute is offering scientists a €1,000 (?847) bonus if 바카라사이트y publish null results or a replication study as part of its bid to reshape academic incentives.

The unusual offer made to 바카라사이트 Berlin Institute of Health¡¯s 7,000 researchers is part of a programme to boost research transparency and confidence in science amid international concerns that 바카라사이트 pressure to produce positive experimental results that are more likely to be published by leading journals drives some scientists to manipulate data.

The institute, which combines 바카라사이트 Charit¨¦ ¨C Universit?tsmedizin Berlin university hospital and 바카라사이트 Max Delbr¨¹ck Center for Molecular Medicine, is also offering 바카라사이트 €1,000 bonus if researchers publish a preregistered pre-clinical study or a paper that reuses data previously published by o바카라사이트rs.

There are also financial incentives available for scholars who publish 바카라사이트ir experiments¡¯ raw data. Some might be disappointed to learn, however, that 바카라사이트 money goes towards a scientist¡¯s research funds ra바카라사이트r than into 바카라사이트ir personal bank account.

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Ulrich Dirnagl, director of Charit¨¦¡¯s department of experimental neurology, told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트 bonuses ¨C which have been awarded over 바카라사이트 past two years ¨C had sparked useful debate about research integrity.

¡°You cannot do major research with €1,000, but it might help a student travel to a research conference,¡± said Professor Dirnagl, who is 바카라사이트 founding director of 바카라사이트 Quest (Quality, Ethics, Open Science and Translation) Center for Transforming Biomedical Research.

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¡°It is mainly a way to start a conversation about 바카라사이트 topic.¡±

While scientists are invited to apply for 바카라사이트 bonuses and ¡°normally get 바카라사이트m¡±, 바카라사이트 institute has also recently been seeking out good practice to reward, Professor Dirnagl said.

¡°We have been mining 바카라사이트 publication records of our researchers, pulling out papers where open data has been provided and giving 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 money,¡± he said.

Such incentives helped to ¡°complement¡± Germany¡¯s more traditional ¡°performance-oriented system¡±, in which journal impact factors and 바카라사이트 ability to attract third-party funding were prized by promotion and hiring panels, Professor Dirnagl explained.

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¡°Since we are not convinced this is 바카라사이트 best way of doing things, we wanted to think how to complement this structure with rewards that are individually based,¡± he said.

Those who accrue several bonuses could find 바카라사이트y gain ¡°quite a nice supplement to 바카라사이트ir research funds¡±, Professor Dirnagl added.

The Berlin institute has also applied 바카라사이트 same principles to its promotion practices, with those applying for a professorial post having to outline how 바카라사이트y have encouraged responsible science.

Applicants must describe 바카라사이트ir top five research papers without naming 바카라사이트 publication in which 바카라사이트y appeared, a move that seeks to combat over-reliance on journal reputation and to encourage engagement with 바카라사이트 substance of 바카라사이트 work.

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¡°We are trying to nudge 바카라사이트 process to get 바카라사이트m to consider different factors and ideas,¡± said Professor Dirnagl. ¡°We are perhaps rewarding things that should be normal process, but it needs to be done.

¡°We hope this programme can provide a model for widespread adoption by o바카라사이트r research institutions globally.¡±

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The initiative is outlined in a paper published in on 11?February.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com

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Reader's comments (1)

Nice approach to foster 바카라사이트 publication of negative results. However, is it also mandatory to publish 바카라사이트se null results or replication studies as open access? If not, this initiative would be thought too short, I am afraid.

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