"Since something close to half of all life science PhDs are reduced to begging for a job at the local WalMart within four years of graduation or are forced to change careers to avoid a lifetime of welfare and food stamps, it seems that many of those who are lucky enough to remain in science do so by working at Big Pharmas. ... most of whom have reached their mid-40s having never earned more than 30K in their lives and who are grateful to simply be working in science at all..." linkyes, this is the fear we face on the day-to-day. especially in the current saturated job market.
she states "I don't think that there is much scientific misconduct occurring in academics". uh, pay attention much?
misconduct is by no means rampant, but it is present in academics. very present. all you have to do is read the literature to realize how much crap gets through by means of a big rubber stamp. these are the boys keeping each other in business, encouraging each other to build that publication record like a stamp collection. the reviewers could care less about the content on which they sign off.
and that's the tame underbelly of the beast. that's a little bloody hangnail.
look a little closer to home. perhaps in your own lab or the one next door. misrepresentation of data, cherry picking of data, citing only positive results and not the negative ones, complete disregard for what all those failed experiments mean (yes, there is meaning there - you just can't publish it - they need a journal called science failed), the misleading of colleagues and the public? it occurs at all levels, from undergrad volunteer to prestigious senior faculty person.
and let's not even begin to think about industry misconduct. just because it's poop from a different animal doesn't mean it smells any better.
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