Defining the Spectrum of Questionable Research Practices

Research is a human activity, and as such, researchers will make mistakes when they conduct experiments, analyse data, and report results. As most funding, jobs, and prestige (through publishing research results etc.) is based on competition, there is also the chance that researchers may try to cheat the system (or at least not be as thorough as possible) to gain an advantage. Unfortunately, the historical emphasis on the robustness of the “research method”, and the objectivity of science in particular, sometimes obscures these very human frailties.