The cost of bad science: A PhD student testimonial

Read it on medium (recommended).

Rawit, a Thai student, was awarded a scholarship to spend a year studying at Oxford University. Things didn’t go to plan.

Rawit Longsaward is a Ph.D. student at Mahidol University in Thailand. In 2021/2022, he was awarded a scholarship to spend a year in the Plant Chemetics Laboratory of Renier van der Hoorn at the University of Oxford. His objective was to study the extensively researched ribonuclease activity of plant defense-induced proteins belonging to the PR-10 family. Although his account of the events is detailed below, it is disheartening to note that his experience is not unique. 

The prevalence of bad science can be expensive and carries a significant cost for those attempting to build upon it, both in terms of financial resources and wasted effort. Scientific research that is flawed, incomplete, or based on inaccurate assumptions can lead to incorrect conclusions and misguided recommendations. In addition to wasting time and resources, bad science can also have serious consequences for public health, safety, and the environment.

And try to get journals to publish contradictory data, meaning the incentives for early career scientists to work on fixing the scientific record are limited. At least, these days we have the preprint server bioRxiv to highlight “Contradictory Results”.

Enough said. Let’s hear it in Rawit’s own words.