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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

Gustavo,

I think scientists have an erroneous (self-servingly biased) view of their collective intellectual integrity, so that they underweight the probability of massaged data, and see only a small credibility benefit as an early adopter, when most respected scientists are not using RR certifications. If more scientists start using the label, then not doing so will become suspicious, in the same way that legal cash payments for big-ticket items have become suspicious.

Robin,

I see a few paths to wider adoption of image-checkers, RR certification, etc:

1. A few more high-profile cases like the Korean faux-cloning lab, with harsh punishments, could raise the level of suspicion among scientists, increasing the credibility benefits of the procedures.

2. One large government grant agency or private foundation could condition funds on use of the procedures (similar to requiring the advance registration of clinical trials), and set off a chain reaction. China's issues with faked research might lead it to implement such a ruleset.

3. Continued publication of results like the Journal of Cell Biology's persuading a few opinion leaders (Nobel laureates, the most elite departments) to publicly adopt the procedures and create a new norm that lower-status research entities would mimic.

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Robin Hanson's avatar

Gustavo, authors can already make their results exactly reproducible, and advertise that fact in their abstract and introduction. And other authors can attempt to so reproduce. Authors clearly do not now think that they will be rewarded for such efforts enough to cover their costs. Sure, "someone" could change things by offering more rewards for such behavior. But who? Either we find a new equilibrium in the relatively decentralized academic system we have, or we introduce a new "center" with enough resources to promote such things.

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