Tuan V. Nguyen
Centre for Health Technologies
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia
Abstract
There is an ongoing crisis in science: most published research findings are either false or irreproducible. Approximately 85% of the money invested in biomedical research (~$280 billion worldwide) is wasted because the results are not reproducible. In this presentation, I argue that the lack of reproducibility is due largely to biases (eg publication bias, experimental bias, reward for 'positive results), poor study design, the misapplication of statistical methods, and uncritical interpretation of P-values.
In order to improve the reproducibility of published findings, several fundamental changes in research culture must be made. These changes include, but are not limited to, the encouragement of large-scale collaborative research, registration of study protocols, data sharing, and adoption of replication culture. Researchers need to be properly trained in the application of statistics in research design and data analysis. More importantly, P-value threshold for declaring a discovery should be more stringent (eg P < 0.001 rather than P < 0.05). Authors, journal editors, and reviewers should adopt the above measures to ensure the robustness of the scientific findings.
About the speaker
Dr. Tuan V. Nguyen is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the UTS Centre for Health Technologies, and a Leadership Fellow of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. He is also a conjoint professor at the School of Population Health, UNSW Medicine, UNSW Sydney. His primary research interest is in osteoporosis prevention and discovery. He is a prolific and influential scientist who has published more than 350 papers in mostly highest impact journals in the field and medicine. His papers have attracted more than 33,000 citations (H-index 92), making him one of the world's most-cited scientists. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. In 2022 Queen Elizabeth II made him a Member of the Order of Australia for his significant contributions to medical research, osteoporosis prevention, and higher education.
