Tag: Bad Science

More Calls for Oversight of Australian Research

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There is growing concern that Australia needs an independent watchdog for academic research. Many other countries have some form of oversight and now even researchers, themselves, are pushing for better standards. Bellow are excerpts from 2 articles in The Converstation. ABA supports this view as research underpinning the management of wild horses needs to be unbiased, rigorous and open to new thinking. Research fraud: the temptation to lie – and the challenges of regulation Most scientists and medical researchers behave ethically. However, in recent years, the number of high-profile scandals in which researchers have been exposed as having falsified their data… Continue reading

The Price of Bad Science

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An article by ABC Investigations has thrown a spotlight on a lack of quality control of academic research in Australia. The article focuses on engineering and medical research papers that have been retracted, and a whistleblower who goes under the name of Artemisia Stricta. But the article also points to the lack of a scientific watchdog in Australia and the broader dangers of allowing poor quality and fraudulent research to proliferate. We have seen this impact on Brumby management in Australia as the invasive species mantra has biased research before it even starts and proliferates the belief that Brumbies are… Continue reading

Unreliable, Compromised Science – calls for a national science watchdog.

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A familiar tune to ABA, they should look at wild horse studies!    Below are some extracts from recent media – the full links are below. Hundreds of scientific research papers published by Australian scientists have been found to be unreliable or compromised, fuelling calls for a national science watchdog. For the first time, a team of science writers behind Retraction Watch has put together a database of compromised scientific research in Australia. Over the past two decades, 247 scientific research papers – some associated with the country’s most reputable universities – have been found to be compromised. Compromised studies are… Continue reading

ABA appalled by unscientific conclusions for Kosi Brumbies

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Two ANU environmental scientist on a ski trip make a spectacular jumps to conclusions about brumbies from an incident at Dead Horse Gap.  The resultant articles and YouTube video show, not good science based on fact and evidence, but speculation and emotional hype. From seeing a few brumbies near a dead mate, wild conclusions of cannibalism lead to the need to aerial cull horses. ABA has responded in a Media Release: ABA Press release Dead Horse Gap 28 Sept 2014   Continue reading