Perspectives on scientific error

Royal Society Open Science, vol. 10, pp. 230448

Abstract

Theoretical arguments and empirical investigations indicate that a high proportion of published findings do not replicate and are likely false. The current position paper provides a broad perspective on scientific error, which may lead to replication failures. This broad perspective focuses on reform history and on opportunities for future reform. We organize our perspective along four main themes: institutional reform, methodological reform, statistical reform and publishing reform. For each theme, we illustrate potential errors by narrating the story of a fictional researcher during the research cycle. We discuss future opportunities for reform. The resulting agenda provides a resource to usher in an era that is marked by a research culture that is less error-prone and a scientific publication landscape with fewer spurious findings.

Authors 15

1. Don van Ravenzwaaij corresponding

   University of Groningen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Heymans Building, room 239, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands

2. Marjan Bakker

   Tilburg University

   Affiliation as printed

   Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands

3. Remco Heesen

   The University of Western Australia · London School of Economics and Political Science

   Affiliation as printed

   London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, UK

   University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia

4. Felipe Romero

   University of Groningen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Heymans Building, room 239, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands

5. N. van Dongen

   University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Amsterdam, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands

6. Sophia Crüwell

   University of Cambridge

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK

7. Sarahanne Miranda Field Aachen Centre for Science and Technology Studies

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, 2311 EZ Leiden, The Netherlands

8. Leonhard Held

   University of Zurich

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Zurich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland

9. Marcus Robert Munafo

   University of Bristol

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, UK

10. Merle-Marie Pittelkow

    University of Groningen · Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin · Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Heymans Building, room 239, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands

    QUEST Center for Transforming Biomedical Research, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité—Universitätsmedizin, 10178 Berlin, Germany

11. Leonid Tiokhin
    Affiliation as printed

    IG&H Consulting, 3528 AC Utrecht, The Netherlands

12. Vincent Traag Aachen Centre for Science and Technology Studies

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, 2311 EZ Leiden, The Netherlands

13. Olmo R. van den Akker

    Tilburg University · Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin · Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

    Affiliation as printed

    QUEST Center for Transforming Biomedical Research, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité—Universitätsmedizin, 10178 Berlin, Germany

    Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands

14. Anna van 't Veer Aachen Methodology and Statistics Unit Institute of Psychology, Leiden University

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Methodology and Statistics Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands

15. Eric‐Jan Wagenmakers

    University of Amsterdam

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Amsterdam, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands