Unfolding the Black Box of Questionable Research Practices: Where Is the Line Between Acceptable and Unacceptable Practices?

Abstract

Despite the extensive literature on what questionable research practices (QRPs) are and how to measure them, the normative underpinnings of such practices have remained less explored. QRPs often fall into a grey area of justifiable and unjustifiable practices. Where to precisely draw the line between such practices challenges individual scholars and this harms science. We investigate QRPs from a normative perspective using the theory of communicative action. We highlight the role of the collective in assessing individual behaviours. Our contribution is a framework that allows identification of when particular actions cross over from acceptable to unacceptable practice. Thus, this article provides grounds for developing scientific standards to raise the quality of scientific research.

Portuguese Primary and Secondary Education in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Study on Teacher Training and Challenges

“…The data collected and the results obtained do not represent any type of restraint for the participants [24], with the authors assuming that the study of the contexts and practices of Portuguese teachers' performance during the pandemic resulting from the COVID-19 virus may translate into an outstanding contribution to the field of educational research. This reality meant that many teachers, faced with the technological evolution that in the last 20 years has brought new equipment, new resources, and, above all, new possibilities into the school in a hyperconnected and multimodal world, needed to seek training that would give them the confidence to innovate.…”

Transitar para um ensino remoto emergencial

“…Os dados recolhidos e os resultados obtidos não representam qualquer tipo de constrangimento para os/as participantes (Linder & Farahbakhsh, 2020), sendo assumido pelas autoras que o estudo dos contextos e práticas de atuação dos/as professores/as portugueses/as durante a pandemia decorrente do vírus Covid-19 pode traduzir-se num contributo de destaque para o campo da investigação educacional.…”

Crossing the Red Line? Empirical Evidence and Useful Recommendations on Questionable Research Practices among Business Scholars

“…Recently, business schools and prestigious journals all over the world have faced increasing ethical challenges related to issues surrounding potential questionable research practices (QRPs) and the 'red lines' of acceptable research ethics. These issues are related to the credibility of findings, the replicability crisis and research malpractice, such as p-hacking or hypothesizing after results are known (HARKing), have been widely witnessed and debated among scholars in recent years (Anderson et al, 2019;John et al, 2012;Linder & Farahbakhsh, 2020;O'Boyle et al, 2017;Rubin, 2017;Simmons et al, 2011;Vogel & Homberg, 2021). However, the facts indicate that scholars' involvement in these practices has grown exponentially in the last decade, with dozens of published papers being retracted due to various forms of research malpractice (Cox et al, 2018;Steen et al, 2013;Stricker & Günther, 2019).…”