Positive Bias Could Erode Public Trust In Science

ananyo writes "Evidence is mounting that research is riddled with positive bias. Left unchecked, the problem could erode public trust, argues Dan Sarewitz, a science policy expert, in a comment piece in Nature. The piece cites a number of findings, including a 2005 paper by John Ioannidis that was one of the first to bring the problem to light ('Why Most Published Research Findings Are False'). More recently, researchers at Amgen were able to confirm the results of only six of 53 'landmark studies' in preclinical cancer research (interesting comments on publishing methodology). While the problem has been most evident in biomedical research, Sarewitz argues that systematic error is now prevalent in 'any field that seeks to predict the behavior of complex systems — economics, ecology, environmental science, epidemiology and so on.' 'Nothing will corrode public trust more than a creeping awareness that scientists are unable to live up to the standards that they have set for themselves,' he adds. Do Slashdot readers perceive positive bias to be a problem? And if so, what practical steps can be taken to put things right?"

Comments

Re:Wait, what?

[ArcherB]

Not being an American, I don't know what FOX is putting out.

FoxNews is the only American news organization that will report issues from the right's perspective. Of course, they will also report from the left, as seen yesterday when Shepherd Smith, one of the most popular anchors at Fox, praised Obama for his stance on gay marriage. The difference is that every other news organization in the US will only report issues from the left. On most networks you will hear that the Keystone Pipeline was cancelled because it would harm the environment. You won't hear that the report claiming that was one of many, most of which said that there would be no problem or that there are plans that would move the pipeline to a less sensitive area. You will hear repeatedly how the GDP grew x.y% last quarter, which was better than expected, but you won't hear, a month later, that those numbers have been revised and that the economy actually performed worse than expected.

The difference is that FoxNews will report both sides of these issues, including the right. The problem is that because FoxNews includes the right's view when no one else does, this puts FoxNews far to the right of every other news organization. This is seen by bias from all that are left of center and they fell that FoxNews must be destroyed or discredited (FauxNews).

Personally, I find it rather scary when one side wants to completely silence or destroy all who disagree with them. You would think these people would learn from history.