A Framework for Improving the Quality of Research in the Biological Sciences

ABSTRACT The American Academy of Microbiology convened a colloquium to discuss problems in the biological sciences, with emphasis on identifying mechanisms to improve the quality of research. Participants from various disciplines made six recommendations: (i) design rigorous and comprehensive evalua...

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Auteurs principaux: Arturo Casadevall, Lee M. Ellis, Erika W. Davies, Margaret McFall-Ngai, Ferric C. Fang
Format: article
Langue:EN
Publié: American Society for Microbiology 2016
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Accès en ligne:https://doaj.org/article/bb75042cd9074d688f7d23b5ceb4d7b5
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Résumé:ABSTRACT The American Academy of Microbiology convened a colloquium to discuss problems in the biological sciences, with emphasis on identifying mechanisms to improve the quality of research. Participants from various disciplines made six recommendations: (i) design rigorous and comprehensive evaluation criteria to recognize and reward high-quality scientific research; (ii) require universal training in good scientific practices, appropriate statistical usage, and responsible research practices for scientists at all levels, with training content regularly updated and presented by qualified scientists; (iii) establish open data at the timing of publication as the standard operating procedure throughout the scientific enterprise; (iv) encourage scientific journals to publish negative data that meet methodologic standards of quality; (v) agree upon common criteria among scientific journals for retraction of published papers, to provide consistency and transparency; and (vi) strengthen research integrity oversight and training. These recommendations constitute an actionable framework that, in combination, could improve the quality of biological research.