Unethical Data Analytic Practices

Analyzing data in an ethical manner ensures the integrity of research findings and the quality of the scientific literature at large. Surveys of research professionals have found that up to 84% of researchers admit to engaging in questionable research practices at least once in their careers. Unethical data analytic practices have the potential to contaminate the scientific literature with unreliable or invalid data. That contamination can be carried further by other researchers who base their work on these data. It can lead to wasted effort, misallocated research funding, and, ultimately, the loss of the public’s trust in scientific research.