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eserafina42 's review for:
Given the constant attacks which science endures from charlatans and deniers on both the left and the right, this book, detailing the actual failings in research and publication, could be disheartening. Indeed, Ritchie details a depressing litany of flaws, errors, and retracted papers that will continue to exist and accumulate citation, as well as living on in popular science books, for years to come. As noted in his subtitle, the main problems are fraud, bias, incompetence, and hype, and the main causes the ever more desperate chase for grant money and publications, as well as the preference for exciting, earth-shattering findings.
However, all is not hopeless. In the second part of the book, he looks at things that can be done to address both the symptoms and the causes of the crisis, such as "Open Science" (increasing transparency); pre-registration, in which the purposes and objectives of a study are published in advance); and pre-printing, which involves making research available for analysis and critique before official publication, many of which are already being implemented to some extent.
Most importantly, the book was written in a way that even this English major with an interest in science but a limited education in it could understand its points with little difficulty.
However, all is not hopeless. In the second part of the book, he looks at things that can be done to address both the symptoms and the causes of the crisis, such as "Open Science" (increasing transparency); pre-registration, in which the purposes and objectives of a study are published in advance); and pre-printing, which involves making research available for analysis and critique before official publication, many of which are already being implemented to some extent.
Most importantly, the book was written in a way that even this English major with an interest in science but a limited education in it could understand its points with little difficulty.