Abstract
Reproducibility and research integrity are essential tenets of every scientific study and discovery. They serve as proof that an established and documented work can be verified, repeated, and reproduced. New knowledge in the biomedical science is built on the shoulders of established and proven principles. Thus, scientists must be able to trust and build on the knowledge of their colleagues. Scientific innovation and research discoveries especially in the field of medicine has contributed to improving the lives of patients and increasing life expectancies. However, the growing concerns of failure to comply with good scientific principles has resulted in issues with research integrity and reproducibility. Poor reproducibility and integrity, therefore, may lead to ineffective interventions and applications. Here we comment on research reproducibility in basic medical and life sciences with regards to issues arising and outline the role of stakeholders such as research institutions and their employees in addressing this crisis.
Highlights
Research integrity encompasses all theknown steps in establishing research from the proposal, performance, and evaluation of research as well as the reporting of results that comply with the accepted professional codes and norms
Scope and extent of reproducibility It will be a daunting task to define the exact components of how a reproducible research should be designed especially in the life and medical sciences
Institutions must endeavour to have and implement policies on good scientific practice with special focus on reproducibility. This includes putting in place measures that allows research employees to submit raw data upon request, which promotes transparency
Summary
Research integrity encompasses all the (un)known steps in establishing research from the proposal, performance, and evaluation of research as well as the reporting of results that comply with the accepted professional codes and norms. It ensures honesty, accuracy, efficiency and objectivity in the scientific research [6]. The reproducibility, integrity and quality of research plays critical role in enforcing and protecting good scientific policies and guidelines, and safeguarding public confidence in research outcomes. The fundamental principle of scientific integrity and trustworthy research is the ability to reproduce initial scientific outcomes and findings as well as the consistencies in similar research findings from different groups [2].
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