[IRTalk] The Natural Selection of Bad Science

[Hilton Gibson]

*Poor research design and data analysis encourage false-positive findings*.
Such poor methods persist despite perennial calls for improvement,
suggesting that they result from something more than just misunderstanding.
The persistence of poor methods results partly from incentives that favor
them, *leading to the natural selection of bad science.* This dynamic
requires no conscious strategizing---no deliberate cheating nor
loafing---by scientists, only that publication is a principle factor for
career advancement.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.09511
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