Ethical problems

[Guest prozak]

Few scientists fabricate results from scratch or flatly plagiarize the work of others, but a surprising number engage in troubling degrees of fact-bending or deceit, according to the first large-scale survey of scientific misbehavior.

 

More than 5 percent of scientists answering a confidential questionnaire admitted to having tossed out data because the information contradicted their previous research or said they had circumvented some human research protections.

 

Ten percent admitted they had inappropriately included their names or those of others as authors on published research reports.

 

And more than 15 percent admitted they had changed a study's design or results to satisfy a sponsor, or ignored observations because they had a "gut feeling" they were inaccurate.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/08/AR2005060802385.html

[coquina]

I have always said that when you read the results of a scientific study, part of your evaluation of the findings should be to know who paid for the research.

[Guest infoterroris]

I agree. It's not a conspiracy, per se, but the money tends to buy anything human these days.

 

What the public sees as "science" and science as a discipline are two different things.