Letters
Waste and harm in covid-19 research
Too much information, too little evidence: is waste in research fuelling the covid-19 infodemic?
BMJ 2020; 370 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2672 (Published 06 July 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;370:m2672
- Virginia Casigliani, medical doctor1,
- Francesca De Nard, medical doctor2,
- Erica De Vita, medical doctor1,
- Guglielmo Arzilli, medical doctor1,
- Francesca Maria Grosso, medical doctor2,
- Filippo Quattrone, medical doctor1,
- Lara Tavoschi, research scientist1,
- Pierluigi Lopalco, professor1
- 1Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Via Savi 10, 56126 Pisa, Italy
- 2Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- v.casigliani7{at}gmail.com
We agree with Glasziou and colleagues that the current pandemic is witnessing a paradox in scientific dissemination.1 The striking publication rate, boosted by preprint servers, is often wasted because of flawed methods. These distortions not only affect research methods and the publication process but might fuel the covid-19 infodemic and its impact on human behaviour.
Although preprints might be corrected or retracted, their media coverage remains, especially on social media, where the cherry picking …
Log in
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Subscribe from £184 *
Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more.
* For online subscription
Access this article for 1 day for:
£50 / $60/ €56 (excludes VAT)
You can download a PDF version for your personal record.