on PolicyMic
Aviva Rutkin Nice article. The perceived cost difference between fast food and "regular" food is definitely an important factor. The pervasive myth that fast food is cheaper has been debunked in some places (e.g. NYT http://nyti.ms/pfZmm2), but it needs to be more aggressively rejected in the public eye.
Aviva Rutkin It's true that some retractions are fairly minor. Part of the problem is that many papers are pulled with little or no explanation, making it difficult to study the problem closely. If you're interested in this topic, it's definitely worth checking out the blog "Retraction Watch" at retractionwatch.wordpress.com.
Aviva Rutkin I like your view of increased retractions as a positive phenomenon. On the whole, more and better communication about science -- even bad science -- will always be positive. We still need to ensure that "bad science" is recognized as such, though. Some incorrect papers continue to be cited years after they have been pulled. (For example, see this Science feature from a while back: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/312/5770/40.full.pdf)
on PolicyMic
Aviva Rutkin Nice article. The perceived cost difference between fast food and "regular" food is definitely an important factor. The pervasive myth that fast food is cheaper has been debunked in some places (e.g. NYT http://nyti.ms/pfZmm2), but it needs to be more aggressively rejected in the public eye.
Aviva Rutkin It's true that some retractions are fairly minor. Part of the problem is that many papers are pulled with little or no explanation, making it difficult to study the problem closely. If you're interested in this topic, it's definitely worth checking out the blog "Retraction Watch" at retractionwatch.wordpress.com.
Aviva Rutkin I like your view of increased retractions as a positive phenomenon. On the whole, more and better communication about science -- even bad science -- will always be positive. We still need to ensure that "bad science" is recognized as such, though. Some incorrect papers continue to be cited years after they have been pulled. (For example, see this Science feature from a while back: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/312/5770/40.full.pdf)