88-417 Scientific Integrity and Communication
9 units, Carnegie Mellon University
Recently, numerous failures to replicate highly influential scientific findings have raised concerns about whether many scientific claims are true. Several problems have been identified in the way research is conducted and reported that challenge the validity and credibility of scientific conclusions. These threats to the integrity of the scientific enterprise include a variety of common practices in designing, conducting, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting research. In this course, we will discuss these problematic research practices, why they occur, their impact on science and society, and possible solutions to address them. Because discussions of scientific validity and integrity have focused on psychology and biomedicine, many readings will be drawn from these disciplines however, we will consider the generalizability of these issues across the sciences. This course will be reading, writing, and discussion intensive with a strong emphasis on statistics and research methods.
Prerequisites: 36-201 and (85-310 or 88-251 or 85-320 or 85-330 or 03-343 or 51-208 or 85-314 or 33-104 or 09-221 or 09-207 or 03-127 or 84-265 or 85-340)
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