Questionable Research Practices

Guidance from UKRIO

• Simon Kolstoe. Defining the Spectrum of Questionable Research
  Practices (QRPs), UKRIO, 2023 https://doi.org/10.37672/UKRIO.2023.02.QRPs

The Spectrum of Questionable Research Practices, from https://doi.org/10.37672/UKRIO.2023.02.QRPs

References

• Andrade C. (2021). HARKing, Cherry-Picking, P-Hacking, Fishing Expeditions, and Data Dredging and Mining as Questionable Research Practices. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 82(1), 20f13804. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.20f13804
• Banks, G. C., Rogelberg, S. G., Woznyj, H. M., Landis, R. S., & Rupp, D. E. (2016). Editorial: Evidence on Questionable Research Practices: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Journal of Business and Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9456-7
• Bierman, D. J., Spottiswoode, J. P., & Bijl, A. (2016). Testing for Questionable Research Practices in a Meta-Analysis: An Example from Experimental Parapsychology. PLOS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153049
• Fraser, H., Parker, T., Nakagawa, S., Barnett, A., & Fidler, F. (2018). Questionable research practices in ecology and evolution. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200303
• Gerrits, R. G., Mulyanto, J., Wammes, J. D., van den Berg, M. J., Klazinga, N. S., & Kringos, D. S. (2020). Individual, institutional, and scientific environment factors associated with questionable research practices in the reporting of messages and conclusions in scientific health services research publications. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 828. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05624-5
• Hooper, M., Barbour, V., Walsh, A., Bradbury, S., & Jacobs, J. (2018). Designing integrated research integrity training: authorship, publication, and peer review. Research Integrity and Peer Review, 3(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-018-0046-2
• Kaiser, M., Drivdal, L., Hjellbrekke, J., Ingierd, H., & Rekdal, O. B. (2021). Questionable Research Practices and Misconduct Among Norwegian Researchers. Science and Engineering Ethics, 28(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-021-00351-4
• Rajah-Kanagasabai, C. J., & Roberts, L. D. (2015). Predicting self-reported research misconduct and questionable research practices in university students using an augmented theory of planned behavior. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00535
• Schneider, J.W., Allum, N., Andersen, J.P., Petersen, M.B., Madsen, E.B., et al. (2024). Is something rotten in the state of Denmark? Cross-national evidence for widespread involvement but not systematic use of questionable research practices across all fields of research. PLOS ONE 19(8): e0304342. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304342

Video

• Examples of questionable research practices, presented by Annemarie Zand Scholten, Assistant Professor, Economics and Business from the University of Amsterdam https://es.coursera.org/lecture/quantitative-methods/6-06-questionable-research-practices-zdcxz (5 mins)
• Nick Fox from the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University discusses how many researchers use questionable research practices and the impact of this behaviour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVcb62B58EQ

Infographic

• Questionable research practices that may lead to research misconduct, ORI https://ori.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2018-12/Slippery%20Slope%20RM%20Rasterized.pdf

Slides

• Neuroskeptic (2015): The Resistible Rise of Questionable Research Practices. figshare. Presentation. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1540908.v2

Last revised September 2024. 

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UKRIO would like to thank our Advisory Board and other volunteers for their help in putting this list together.