Careless citations don’t just spread scientific myths — they can make them stronger

How misconceptions persist and proliferate within the scientific literature

First published in Nature Index, October 2019

Science, in theory, is self-correcting. But, as a new study demonstrates, some scientific ideas appear immune to criticism. Striking them down only seems to make them more powerful.

The study, published in PLoS ONE by Kåre Letrud and Sigbjørn Hernes of the University of Applied Sciences in Lillehammer, Norway, looks at citations and mis-citations of three articles critiquing the so-called Hawthorne effect. It’s the first in a series of planned investigations of what Letrud refers to as “tenacious scientific myths”.

Continue reading at Nature Index