The Credibility Crisis in Science

ENDORSEMENTS“Data fabrication and manipulation damage scientific credibility. Plümper and Neumayer argue that ‘tweaking’ is an even more prevalent and problematic form of scientific fraud. A must-read for anyone trying to counter declining trust in science.”—Matt Golder, Professor of Political Science, Pennsylvania State University“This is a tremendously important and well-written book. It tackles the problem of scientific fraud with a depth and clarity that I found both novel and persuasive. The authors have convinced me that the ‘gray zone’ of scientific misconduct—what they call tweaking—deserves far more attention than I gave it in my own work. This is a book that deserves to be widely read.”—Lee McIntyre, author of On Disinformation and How to Talk to a Science Denier“Tweaking and fraud provide background conditions under which routine junk science can thrive. This new book provides a thoughtful tour of the problem and potential solutions.”—Andrew Gelman, Higgins Professor of Statistics, Columbia University; author of Regression and Other Stories“This book cuts through the fog of questionable research practices to show why science too often fails to deliver on its promise, and what can be done about it. A sharp, timely, and essential read.”—Abel Brodeur, Professor, University of Ottawa; Founder and Chair, Institute for Replication

Thomas Plümper is Professor of Quantitative Social Research at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Head of the Department of Socioeconomics. He is author of numerous articles and coauthor, with Eric Neumayer, of Robustness Tests for Quantitative Research.

Eric Neumayer is Professor of Environment and Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a recipient of the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Geography. He is LSE’s Deputy President and Vice Chancellor.