Underreporting research is scientific misconduct

Chalmers discusses two phenomena that he regards as forms of misconduct. The first is the selection of reports for publication the basis of "positive results" rather than of whether they have been well and competently executed. The second is the failure of to publish results with sufficient detail to allow judgments to made about their validity. Chalmers gives examples of underreporting of in the field of perinatology, and reports on a survey he and conducted in an attempt to identify unpublished randomized trials. discusses ways that the problem of underreporting might be reduced through efforts of investigators, funding organizations, ethics committees, and editors. Chalmers suggests that these efforts could be aided by wider of prospective registration of trials at their inception. (KIE)