Two scientists and an editor spent six months investigating so-called paper mills, which churn out bogus scientific papers that impede actual research on lifesaving breakthroughs.
In this story, an academic researcher recounts his team’s investigation, published in the journal Science, that looked into the accuracy of models measuring the health of fisheries.
Uri Simonsohn, a behavioral scientist who coauthors the Data Colada blog, urges reporters to ask researchers about preregistration and expose opportunities for academic fraud.
Tips from three experts who have covered research misconduct or have hands-on experience monitoring or detecting it.
A lot of academic research exists behind paywalls. The Journalist’s Resource outlines eight ways reporters can get free access to high-quality scholarship.
Academic research is a crucial tool for investigating societal problems and holding the powerful accountable. Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Neil Bedi, criminologist Rachel Lovell, and Denise-Marie Ordway of The Journalist’s Resource share practical advice on using academic research in investigative journalism.
Emilia Șercan has spent the last seven years writing dozens of investigations about alleged plagiarism and academic fraud in the doctorates of Romania’s elites. Her investigations have found evidence of copying from famous authors and other students’ in the work of the current Romanian prime minister as well as the ministers of defense, health, and education, a number of university rectors, police chiefs and army generals, prosecutors, and judges.
Data journalists often encounter the term “standard deviation” when reading research, from climate change studies to social science papers. This tipsheet explains how researchers use this measure, and how reporters can benefit from the context it provides.
