What's wrong with science research?

[The Esk]

So are we saying that the absence of public funding in scientific research is detrimental to the advancement of science, as private funding will always seek a favourable result based on the interests of the funder?

 

[SerenityNigh]

So are we saying that the absence of public funding in scientific research is detrimental to the advancement of science, as private funding will always seek a favourable result based on the interests of the funder?

Private funding creates its own biases, no doubt, but publication bias may itself be a threat to science. That's the assertion in the first story, and one of the implications made by the second article. Of course, the second article deals with the notion that most of what we observe is noise, and presents ideas that digress into other topics.

Then again, maybe it's the role of someone else in society to sort out what's relevant and what's not; let the researchers do their part and leave the interpretation up to others.

 

[Tubey]

That this argument is the best one that the energy lobby can pay people to shill shows how true man-made global warming is.

I'm part of the energy lobby?

 

[tsubaki]

I'm part of the energy lobby? lol

No, but the argument you posted is the output of that mob.

 

[RAFUH]

Private funding creates its own biases, no doubt, but publication bias may itself be a threat to science. That's the assertion in the first story, and one of the implications made by the second article. Of course, the second article deals with the notion that most of what we observe is noise, and presents ideas that digress into other topics.

Then again, maybe it's the role of someone else in society to sort out what's relevant and what's not; let the researchers do their part and leave the interpretation up to others.

Publication bias is/was noted to be an issue in medicine particularly pediatric trials of medications already approved for adult use....thus the requirement for registering clinical trials. You can't hide a negative trial now. And if you try to publish without having registered, it will be difficult to and everyone will question the results.

Meta-analyses and reviews regularly include funnel plots to asssess for publication bias. Doesn't stop the bias from existing, but makes you a more informed consumer of the information.

Publication bias is HUGE in the dietary supplement/herbal arena.