The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s Publication Policy Is Inconsistent With Scientific Epistemology

Abstract

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology has urged scientific journals to reject studies that use data from privately owned fossil collections. Here, I argue that the Society’s perspective on reproducibility in science is overly simplistic. Their suggested publication policy, at best, slows the progress of science and, at worst, permits scientific misconduct through a form of data falsification and provides a potential mechanism to bully and censor researchers. The best way to ensure the long-term survival of fossil data is to collect and publish the data while the specimens are available.