Retract or be damned: the “bystander effect” is worsening the situation

We agree with Abbasi that this is a “dangerous moment for science,”1 and are worried that a “bystander effect” is worsening research misconduct. The organisations that could help are largely walking by. Publishers expect institutions to prevent poor quality and fraud at source. Institutions call for enhanced peer review while suppressing misconduct by their staff to protect their reputations. Funders support new research, not quality control. While everyone waits for someone else to act, scientific research declines, with publication numbers hitting an unhealthy high.To stop the bystander effect, we need an organisation with international gravitas to act, but this must be serious action. It can’t be another special issue on research integrity or a one day national meeting on research integrity, and then back to business as usual. Research quality control needs proper long term funding.The growing field of meta-research has many talented researchers and good ideas to improve research…
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