> Ultimately, a lingering question is — as with paper mills — why so many suspect RCTs are being produced in the first place. Mol, from his experiences investigating the Egyptian studies, blames lack of oversight and superficial assessments that promote academics on the basis of their number of publications, as well as the lack of stringent checks from institutions and journals on bad practices.
A substantial part of what's happening here is that first-world countries with generally good cultures of research integrity are basing medical policy on studies done in countries where the system encourages researchers to cheat. British and US authorities can't put Egyptian or Chinese researchers in prison, can they?
This is the correct answer. Typically if something is done at an ivy league, other US and UK universities follow. Perhaps the other countries would follow as well shortly after that, or there would just be a divide between 'real' research and 'not', similar to when many of my friends stop reading after the word 'Hindawi'.
It wouldn't be limited to Florida. Elsewhere, having any reasonable questions about the severity regarding the religion of Climate Change would get one jailed for blasphemy.
Imagine same approach in politics. If some politics put lies in their speeches to manipulate with people, we should call them liers and put them in prison. But somehow it doesn't happen. Looks like society prefer conformity over responsibility.
As reasonable as that would be. I feel like it would just turn into people getting their degrees revoke claiming 'cancel culture' and becoming gurus with many mindless followers pushing loose weight quick schemes kind of thing. Because today if you face consequences, its no longer your fault, its everyone else trying to cancel you from doing the bad thing you are doing.
No, there should be prison time for scientists who conduct unethical trials or publish fake results.
The public (and policy makers) place such immense trust in those people and what they publish that nothing less is even remotely adequate.
When someone puts arsenic in food, they go to prison – labeling the food with "contains arsenic" doesn't cut it.
Do this and watch science magically fix itself.