title: A Framework for Improving the Quality of Research in the Biological Sciences.
abstract: The American Academy of Microbiology convened a colloquium to discuss problems in the biological sciences, with emphasis on identifying mechanisms to improve the quality of research. Participants from various disciplines made six recommendations: (i) design rigorous and comprehensive evaluation criteria to recognize and reward high-quality scientific research; (ii) require universal training in good scientific practices, appropriate statistical usage, and responsible research practices for scientists at all levels, with training content regularly updated and presented by qualified scientists; (iii) establish open data at the timing of publication as the standard operating procedure throughout the scientific enterprise; (iv) encourage scientific journals to publish negative data that meet methodologic standards of quality; (v) agree upon common criteria among scientific journals for retraction of published papers, to provide consistency and transparency; and (vi) strengthen research integrity oversight and training. These recommendations constitute an actionable framework that, in combination, could improve the quality of biological research.
authors: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA acasade1@jhu.edu.
authors: Arturo
authors: 0000-0002-9402-9167
authors: A
authors: Casadevall
authors: Division of Surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors: Lee M
authors: LM
authors: Ellis
authors: American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC, USA.
authors: Erika W
authors: EW
authors: Davies
authors: Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
authors: Margaret
authors: M
authors: McFall-Ngai
authors: University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors: Ferric C
authors: FC
authors: Fang
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D008829:Microbiology / Q000592:standards; D011786:Quality Control