Exceptions
to high quality research should not be made simply because of the COVID-19
pandemic, argue scientists in a new commentary.
Scientists
have argued in a commentary piece that global crises are no excuse for lowering
scientific standards in research.
In
light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alex London from Carnegie Mellon University, US
and Jonathan Kimmelman from McGill University, Canada suggest that the
urgencies of crises situations require researchers, medical professionals,
health authorities and other stakeholders to triage low-quality research
efforts.
As
the global coronavirus pandemic evolves, scientists worldwide are conducting
studies to address the crisis at unprecedented rates. However, according to
London and Kimmelman, these efforts are threatened by the widespread perception
that public health emergencies demand exceptions to the usually high standards
of research in order for science to become feasible during such challenging
times. The result has been a rise in low-quality studies – many published on
pre-print servers and lacking peer-review. According to the authors, some of
these studies have caught the public’s attention, as well as the resources of
policymakers.
However,
the problems that rigorous scientific methods are designed to identify cannot
be ignored in the face of urgency, the authors write. Ultimately, the
proliferation of poorly designed studies amplifies the risk of diverting scarce
resources towards false leads and ineffective practices, while increasing
uncertainty about how best to treat patients or develop public health
interventions.
Overall, London and Kimmelman present five criteria of quality: importance, rigour, analytical integrity, transparency and feasibility. They argue that research and public health stakeholders have a responsibility to evaluate and triage studies that fail to meet these conditions and to combine efforts, labour and resources to quickly and efficiently complete high-quality investigations that have the greatest potential to advance public health.
The piece was published
in Science.
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