Current Events > The perfect crime: scientific fraud in America

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://youtu.be/FfzlS5vS314

Pretty good video on a pretty ridiculous case.

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Up.

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I ain't watching a twenty minute video with no context

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I mean, the title is context. It's talking about a case of scientific fraud, and the worrying trend in American universities where fraud gets covered up to prevent bad press.

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Is this why diet advice changes on the daily?

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COVxy posted...

I mean, the title is context. It's talking about a case of scientific fraud, and the worrying trend in American universities where fraud gets covered up to prevent bad press.

so... like being anti-vax? climate change denial? What exactly are we talking about here?

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Is it about hard sciences or soft, social sciences? Or both?

Because I thought it was pretty clear that questionable studies get published because academics like what they say.

Fuck it, I'll just watch a bit and see where it goes.

Tag for later!
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Machete posted...

so... like being anti-vax? climate change denial? What exactly are we talking about here?

The guy in the video doesn't talk about the studies themselves, but he shows the titles briefly. I can't read the studies, but an article I found said

The studies being retracted cover a range of topics. Two found that the number of black people lynched in a U.S. county 100 years ago influences whether white people in the same area today perceive black people as a threat and favor harsh punishments for them. Another examined the role of social context in antiblack and anti-Latino sentiment in the U.S. criminal justice system.

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Ok. Tl;dw. Someone started questioning where a professor got the numbers for several big studies. The studies cited a massive survey with a high response rate. They started questioning the professor on that survey data, but he kept dodging the question.

Eventually they filed a formal complaint with the university, but the university squashed it by making sure it never got past the inquiry phase. Broke their own rules regarding unbiased panels by staffing the majority of the panel with the fraudster doctor's co-authors.

Talks about universities in general covering up for bad studies to avoid bad publicity and because big studies make them look good and get them a lot of money.

Edit: Oh. And the cited study supposedly came from an institute that had been defunct for several years. Basically, they seem to have invented a study to make up numbers for their studies.

Esrac posted...

Ok. Tl;dw. Someone started questioning where a professor got the numbers for several big studies. The studies cited a massive survey with a high response rate. They started questioning the professor on that survey data, but he kept dodging the question.

Eventually they filed a formal complaint with the university, but the university squashed it by making sure it never got past the inquiry phase. Broke their own rules regarding unbiased panels by staffing the majority of the panel with the fraudster doctor's co-authors.

Talks about universities in general covering up for bad studies to avoid bad publicity and because big studies make them look good and get them a lot of money.

That is legitimately terrifying

Esrac posted...

Is it about hard sciences or soft, social sciences? Or both?

Because I thought it was pretty clear that questionable studies get published because academics like what they say.

Fuck it, I'll just watch a bit and see where it goes.

I mean, it happens across the spectrum, this particular case is in criminology.

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Loud_Pipes posted...

That is legitimately terrifying

Yeah. And it validates every climate denialist who accuses scientists of fraud for their climate studies. The video specifically says that universities "try to make the numbers work", which I take to mean they try to get the statistics to fit the conclusions they want them to

Esrac posted...

And it validates every climate denialist who accuses scientists of fraud for their climate studies.

Naw, not in any meaningful way. And because climate change denialists will use pretty much anything to justify their beliefs, I don't find that reasonably compelling.

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Its messed up, policies are made based on scientific data, things like how we think about climate change.

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https://youtu.be/AZZNvT1vaJg
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Kazi1212 posted...

Its messed up, policies are made based on scientific data, things like how we think about climate change.

what kinda stupid shit is this?? xD
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spudger posted...

what kinda stupid shit is this?? xD

What, are you implying we shouldn't/don't base policies around supposedly reliable scientific data?

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