Error and Fraud: The Dark Side of Biomedical Research

by Geoffrey Webb

Overview

This fascinating book gives readers an appreciation of how biomedical research should work and how the reality is all too often seriously flawed. Explaining the logical basis of the different research approaches used by biomedical research scientists and their relative merits, it will help readers to make more realistic appraisal of media reports linking aspects of lifestyle, environment or diet to health outcomes and thus judge whether such claims are a real effect worthy of consideration for behavior change or deserving of further research resources.

Key features:

• increases awareness of research fraud and some of the characteristics of fraudulent science and scientific fraudsters
• shows that whilst outright fraud may be uncommon, fudging of results to help achieve statistical significance may be more prevalent
• incorporates real-life case studies highlighting some of the infamous cases of research fraud and major scientific mistakes and the impact that they have had
• provides a convenient overview of the research process in the biomedical sciences, with a focus on research strategy rather than individual methods
• find supplemental detail on the author’s blog https://drgeoffnutrition.wordpress.com/about/

By raising awareness of the possibility that research data may have been dishonestly generated and outlining some of the signs and symptoms that might suggest data fabrication, Error and Fraud: The Dark Side of Biomedical Research will help students and researchers to identify the strengths and limitations of different research approaches and allow them to make a realistic evaluations of their own and others’ research findings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367469931
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	06/22/2021
Pages:	239
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr Geoffrey P Webb (BSc MSc PHd SFHEA) is Senior Lecturer at the University of East London and one of the UK’s leading experts on Nutrition.

Table of Contents

Preface. Prologue. Acknowledgements. Research strategies in the biomedical sciences. Case studies of scientific errors. More general concerns about scientific credibility. The accused – case studies of scientists accused. Research fraud overview. Protection – barriers to the publication of fraudulent data. Detection: identifying fraud after publication. Disinfection and measures for minimising the impact. Index.