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Challenges in irreproducible research

Science moves forward by corroboration – when researchers verify others’ results. Science advances faster when people waste less time pursuing false leads. No research paper can ever be considered to be the final word, but there are too many that do not stand up to further study.

There is growing alarm about results that cannot be reproduced.  Explanations include increased levels of scrutiny, complexity of experiments and statistics, and pressures on researchers. Journals, scientists, institutions and funders all have a part in tackling reproducibility. Nature has taken substantive steps to improve the transparency and robustness in what we publish, and to promote awareness within the scientific community. We hope that the articles contained in this collection will help.

Editorial

  • Repetitive flaws

    Strict guidelines to improve the reproducibility of experiments are a welcome move.

    Nature (20 January 2016)

  • Let’s think about cognitive bias

    The human brain’s habit of finding what it wants to find is a key problem for research. Establishing robust methods to avoid such bias will make results more reproducible.

    Nature (07 October 2015)

  • Data-access practices strengthened

    A new Initiative from Nature and the Nature research journals that strengthens our editorial links with the journal Scientific Data to enhance data-availability practices.

    Nature (19 November 2014)

  • Journals unite for reproducibility

    Consensus on reporting principles aims to improve quality control in biomedical research and encourage public trust in science.

    Nature (05 November 2014)

  • Code share

    Papers in Nature journals should make computer code accessible where possible.

    Nature (29 October 2014)

  • Further confirmation needed

    A new mechanism for independently replicating research findings is one of several changes required to improve the quality of the biomedical literature.

    Nature Biotechnology (10 September 2012)

  • Error prone

    Biologists must realize the pitfalls of work on massive amounts of data.

    Nature (25 July 2012)

  • Must try harder

    Too many sloppy mistakes are creeping into scientific papers. Lab heads must look more rigorously at the data — and at themselves.

    Nature (28 March 2012)

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