When science goes bad - A look at Scientific misconduct (and how to avoid it)

Course Aim

What kind of scientist are you?
Are you dodgy and deceptive, with a sense of entitlement and runaway ambition leading you to fudge data, hack p-values and regard publication by any means as more valuable than the scientific truths of the universe!?
Or, would you describe yourself as an honest, open and accountable researcher with high standards and a disinterested approach, entirely motivated by your small contribution to collective knowledge?

Whoever you are, you are welcome to this workshop which uses short presentations and interactive sessions to examine examples of bad research design, shoddy results and scientific misconduct giving you the opportunity to consider day to day scientific methods through a critical lens. By the end participants will be equipped with the means to identify quality science and conduct their own research with integrity.

Course content

1. Tragedies! - The slippery slope to scientific misconduct
2. Interactive session: Where did it all go wrong? Misconduct case studies.
3. Bad behaviour in clinical and laboratory science.
4. Interactive session: Can you spot shoddy science?
5. Why your PI hates you, and vice versa

Course Format

This course will take place as a workshop with presentations interspersed with interactive sessions.

Course length

Total course length is 3 hours (3 sections of 30 min lecture plus 2 interactive sessions of 30 mins).

Participant numbers

24