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The Black Market for Fake Science Is Growing Faster Than Legitimate Research, Study Warns
A small but growing number of academics are improperly taking credit for articles, citations, and authorships, allowing them to appear prestigious without having conducted their own research.
Over the last four centuries, an implicit contract has been established between scientists and states: in exchange for producing knowledge useful for economic and social development, governments and other benefactors offer researchers stable careers, good salaries, and public recognition. “These indicators have rapidly become targets for measuring institutional and personal impact, which has generated unbridled competition and growing inequality in the distribution of resources, incentives, and rewards,” the authors warn. “The use of numerical metrics to evaluate projects and professionals … encourages the search for shortcuts,” says Pere Puigdomènech, president of the Committee for Research Integrity in Catalonia (CIR-CAT) in Spain.
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