Investigating and preventing scientific misconduct using Benford’s Law
Abstract Integrity and trust in that integrity are fundamental to academic research. However, procedures for monitoring the trustworthiness of research, and for investigating cases where concern about possible data fraud have been raised are not well established. Here we suggest a practical approach...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Research Integrity and Peer Review |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-022-00126-w |
| _version_ | 1797845739313823744 |
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| author | Gregory M. Eckhartt Graeme D. Ruxton |
| author_facet | Gregory M. Eckhartt Graeme D. Ruxton |
| author_sort | Gregory M. Eckhartt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Integrity and trust in that integrity are fundamental to academic research. However, procedures for monitoring the trustworthiness of research, and for investigating cases where concern about possible data fraud have been raised are not well established. Here we suggest a practical approach for the investigation of work suspected of fraudulent data manipulation using Benford’s Law. This should be of value to both individual peer-reviewers and academic institutions and journals. In this, we draw inspiration from well-established practices of financial auditing. We provide synthesis of the literature on tests of adherence to Benford’s Law, culminating in advice of a single initial test for digits in each position of numerical strings within a dataset. We also recommend further tests which may prove useful in the event that specific hypotheses regarding the nature of data manipulation can be justified. Importantly, our advice differs from the most common current implementations of tests of Benford’s Law. Furthermore, we apply the approach to previously-published data, highlighting the efficacy of these tests in detecting known irregularities. Finally, we discuss the results of these tests, with reference to their strengths and limitations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:43:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4df5a812c4f84771a6fa4a9a2e3369b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2058-8615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:43:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Research Integrity and Peer Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-4df5a812c4f84771a6fa4a9a2e3369b62023-04-16T11:27:53ZengBMCResearch Integrity and Peer Review2058-86152023-04-018111010.1186/s41073-022-00126-wInvestigating and preventing scientific misconduct using Benford’s LawGregory M. Eckhartt0Graeme D. Ruxton1School of Biology, University of St AndrewsSchool of Biology, University of St AndrewsAbstract Integrity and trust in that integrity are fundamental to academic research. However, procedures for monitoring the trustworthiness of research, and for investigating cases where concern about possible data fraud have been raised are not well established. Here we suggest a practical approach for the investigation of work suspected of fraudulent data manipulation using Benford’s Law. This should be of value to both individual peer-reviewers and academic institutions and journals. In this, we draw inspiration from well-established practices of financial auditing. We provide synthesis of the literature on tests of adherence to Benford’s Law, culminating in advice of a single initial test for digits in each position of numerical strings within a dataset. We also recommend further tests which may prove useful in the event that specific hypotheses regarding the nature of data manipulation can be justified. Importantly, our advice differs from the most common current implementations of tests of Benford’s Law. Furthermore, we apply the approach to previously-published data, highlighting the efficacy of these tests in detecting known irregularities. Finally, we discuss the results of these tests, with reference to their strengths and limitations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-022-00126-wScientific misconductPeer reviewBenford’s LawBenford’s Law testsRetracted article testingAnimal behaviour |
| spellingShingle | Gregory M. Eckhartt Graeme D. Ruxton Investigating and preventing scientific misconduct using Benford’s Law Research Integrity and Peer Review Scientific misconduct Peer review Benford’s Law Benford’s Law tests Retracted article testing Animal behaviour |
| title | Investigating and preventing scientific misconduct using Benford’s Law |
| title_full | Investigating and preventing scientific misconduct using Benford’s Law |
| title_fullStr | Investigating and preventing scientific misconduct using Benford’s Law |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating and preventing scientific misconduct using Benford’s Law |
| title_short | Investigating and preventing scientific misconduct using Benford’s Law |
| title_sort | investigating and preventing scientific misconduct using benford s law |
| topic | Scientific misconduct Peer review Benford’s Law Benford’s Law tests Retracted article testing Animal behaviour |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-022-00126-w |
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