This lecture starts from Heinemann's editorial Honesty (Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon, 2018) and reviews scientific honesty, conflicts of interest and transparency.
In short: significant progress is needed for medical research to be reliable, reproducible and cost-effective.
Measures analysed
- Mandatory registration of potential conflicts of interest.
- Registered reports.
- Registration of all publicly funded research.
These are simple ideas for greater transparency, less reporting bias and fewer poor methodological practices. The lecture also covers the British Medical Journal's 2019 call for evidence and practice to be independent of financial interests.
Dr. Cortés Torres's comments
- Pseudoscience is among the greatest dangers to science and its application.
- Not all open-access journals charge to publish, and subscription journals may charge too.
- Access to knowledge should be free.