"Hype" in Scientific Research

There are many problems with the current state of published research, many of which I have noticed in my four short years being involved in this world, and many of which appear not to be recent phenomena but rather problems that have plagued science since its inception. Of all these issues, the one that I think is often most harmful to the progress of scientific research and the proper application of the scientific method is the tendency for researchers, research institutions and the press to overhype and often completely misrepresent the significance of their findings.

As the October 2015 Vox article states, “the media has a penchant for hailing new medical ‘breakthroughs’ and ‘miracles’ – even when there’s no evidence to back up those claims.” But the media are not solely to blame. As the author points out, the researchers, doctors, institutions and companies involved in the production of these “miraculous” studies often overstate the significance of their research in the first place. 

One example that comes to mind is a recent study showing the effect of retooled diabetes drugs on the progression of Alzheimer’s in transgenic mice. I was surprised to find headlines in national news sources, such as “Report: Scientists Find Alzheimer’s Treatment While Trying To Cure Diabetes” that fail to acknowledge that the study is simply in mice and light-years away from the clinical trial data required to make such a claim. To even suggest it was a valuable mouse study, careful reviews of potential biases, statistical and experimental methods are required.

I think overhyping and overstating the significance of research often leads to cutting corners in the proper application of the scientific method. Hypotheses quickly become regarded as theory and a lot of time and money is invested in ideas that are flawed to begin with. I think increasing criticism and analysis of publications via comment sections and forums such as PubPeer is an important step in reducing scientific hype. Most importantly I agree with the Economist article, which suggests that graduate student education in statistical methods, as well as encouraging a skeptical outlook on scientific research are key to combating this issue.