A guy I know made MSNBC on peer reviewed studies last week.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

The brother of one of my friends is in an article discussing the the peer review (or lack thereof) on MSNBC while I was off the board last week. Thought I'd post it for you for those that are interested.

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Academic research that is cloaked in secrecy by researchers who refuse to share their data or methodology is contributing to bad public policy, according to a new study released today by independent research organization the Fraser Institute.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29255336/

[dbackjon]

this is a major issue for all research - as well as the hiding of funding sources.

[JMU DJ]

My lab shares data pretty freely, but it's a cut throat world... you don't publish you don't get funding. There's plenty of peer review once you submit your data for publishing, prior to that it could only be within the lab. Plenty of people refuse to speak about their data because of the competition, if another group hears that you are working on something or have found something they may decide to jump in and do it themselves, taking the credit... I've been to research meetings where a kid got up, presented his data, but refused to say what the proteins were he found, just that they did what he said they did. During the questions section, this one professor from France stood up and laid into the kid "If you are going to come to these things and expect us to take you and your work seriously, you can't get up here and say you found something but don't supply us with the evidence you did." The tongue lashing was actually a lot worse, and a few other professors piled on.


It's a real shitty system, I know two labs in this building that are working on the same project... instead of collaborating with each other to get the work done faster and take co-recognition, it's like the Hatfields and McCoys.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

this is a major issue for all research - as well as the hiding of funding sources.

Yeah it looks like it. I didn't know the ins and outs of why and so forth but JMUDJ's explanation sheds some light on it. I guess it has to be that way to protect yourself but it doesn't seem to be in the best interests of checking facts and so forth.