January 2018 PMID 29410855

Modelling science trustworthiness under publish or perish pressure.

David Robert Grimes, Chris T Bauch, John P A Ioannidis

Mentions

47
Peak: 5 in Jul 2021
across 5 sources since Jan 2019

Extended reach

1,043,453
potential audience

Total likes

9,418

Video views

573,729

Mentions per month

Jan 2019 – Oct 2025

Where it's discussed

  • X / Twitter39 posts
  • News3 articles
  • YouTube2 videos
  • Facebook2 posts
  • Bluesky1 posts

AI synopsis

What people are saying

This group of discussions collectively emphasizes the troubling effects of the publish or perish culture, with examples like modeling studies and calls for systemic change, where words such as 'epidemic,' 'crisis,' and 'serious problem' reflect concern and a desire for reform. The tone and context highlight a shared recognition that these issues threaten the integrity and progress of scientific research.

AgreementModerate agreement

The majority of discussions acknowledge the issues highlighted in the publication, emphasizing the negative impact of publish or perish culture on scientific trustworthiness.

InterestHigh interest

Posts demonstrate high interest by discussing modeling approaches, the systemic pressures, and the consequences for scientific integrity, indicating strong engagement with the topic.

EngagementHigh engagement

Many responses include references to modeling, proposed reforms, and examples of the problem's scope, showing deep engagement and critical thinking.

ImpactHigh impact

The discussions reflect a recognition that the publication addresses a significant systemic issue affecting reproducibility, trust, and quality in science, suggesting a high perceived impact.

Abstract in brief

  • The article discusses how the "publish or perish" culture in science can lead to untrustworthy research, especially as top journals favor exciting positive results over null or negative findings, which may increase fraud and irreproducibility.
  • The authors introduce a simple model with different types of scientists—diligent, careless, and unethical—to show that factors like false positive rates and pressure for positive outcomes directly impact the trustworthiness of scientific results.
  • Findings suggest that reduced funding worsens trustworthiness, but strategies to address irreproducibility can help improve the reliability of scientific publications and maintain public confidence in science.]

Top posts

Most liked on X and Bluesky
Dr David Robert Grimes
@drg1985 · X

..for context, ~75% of preclinical research is non-reproducible. Even in cancer research, one investigation found only 11% of landmark studies could be replicated. Lots of reasons for this ("bioscience is hard" is a major one) but publication pressure huge https://t.co/tn7OYL1SVs

Jul 28, 2020 · 9 likes · 2 shares · 27,728 followers View post →
Elisabeth Bik
@MicrobiomDigest · X

@METRICStanford JI: 96% of biomedical literature claims significant results. But negative papers are equally important. And sloppy / fraudulent research will pay off. We showed that using modeling. #Inserm277 https://t.co/rvcDGIO1FL

Mar 11, 2024 · 6 likes · 144,571 followers View post →
Dr David Robert Grimes
@drg1985 · X

We would be much better off publishing fewer articles of higher quality. Think @david_colquhoun once suggested a paper limit per year, not a bad concept. And way back in 2018, we modelled why perverse incentives in Medical science spiral badly https://t.co/tn7OYL1SVs

Dec 14, 2023 · 6 likes · 3 shares · 27,728 followers View post →
Dr David Robert Grimes
@drg1985 · X

@NoahHaber @TamarHaspel @deirdre_tobias Yup. You have a selection pressure for junk in all branches of science. Don't forget most cancer research isn't replicable either, which is a damning indictment of the system as it stands.... https://t.co/tn7OYL1SVs

Mar 29, 2022 · 4 likes · 27,728 followers View post →
Kerem Oktar
@Keremoktar · X

@Oliver_S_Curry Mostly modeling : https://t.co/fR2psSnroa https://t.co/Ugid1VqYuP Some interventions that encourage publish or perish (that aimed to incentivize # of pubs directly) https://t.co/Bm9BfcvFh2

Jan 25, 2024 · 4 likes · 1 share · 669 followers View post →
Jonathan Eisen
@phylogenomics · X

@ucdavis @ralphhexter At @ucdavis Ioannidis discussing models and approaches to testing reward systems in science https://t.co/ZoZa3rZ4Av https://t.co/GxldGNzUQs

Jan 29, 2019 · 3 likes · 1 share · 62,419 followers View post →

All mentions

Stephen
@Stephen50000766 · X

This is a highly inconvenient truth https://t.co/WSBRk7cRrQ

Mar 19, 2024 · 163 followers View post →
Elisabeth Bik
@MicrobiomDigest · X

@METRICStanford JI: 96% of biomedical literature claims significant results. But negative papers are equally important. And sloppy / fraudulent research will pay off. We showed that using modeling. #Inserm277 https://t.co/rvcDGIO1FL

Mar 11, 2024 · 6 likes · 144,571 followers View post →
Tolga Yıldız
@tolgayildizphd · X

RT @Keremoktar: @Oliver_S_Curry Mostly modeling : https://t.co/fR2psSnroa https://t.co/Ugid1VqYuP Some interventions that encourage publi…

Jan 26, 2024 · 1 share · 16,420 followers View post →
Kerem Oktar
@Keremoktar · X

@Oliver_S_Curry Mostly modeling : https://t.co/fR2psSnroa https://t.co/Ugid1VqYuP Some interventions that encourage publish or perish (that aimed to incentivize # of pubs directly) https://t.co/Bm9BfcvFh2

Jan 25, 2024 · 4 likes · 1 share · 669 followers View post →
Yarosh
@Yarimatahari · X

RT @drg1985: We would be much better off publishing fewer articles of higher quality. Think @david_colquhoun once suggested a paper limit p…

Dec 28, 2023 · 3 shares · 447 followers View post →
Dorothy Bishop
@deevybee · X

RT @drg1985: We would be much better off publishing fewer articles of higher quality. Think @david_colquhoun once suggested a paper limit p…

Dec 14, 2023 · 3 shares · 36,748 followers View post →
David Colquhoun on Bluesky
@david_colquhoun · X

RT @drg1985: We would be much better off publishing fewer articles of higher quality. Think @david_colquhoun once suggested a paper limit p…

Dec 14, 2023 · 3 shares · 13,880 followers View post →
Dr David Robert Grimes
@drg1985 · X

We would be much better off publishing fewer articles of higher quality. Think @david_colquhoun once suggested a paper limit per year, not a bad concept. And way back in 2018, we modelled why perverse incentives in Medical science spiral badly https://t.co/tn7OYL1SVs

Dec 14, 2023 · 6 likes · 3 shares · 27,728 followers View post →
James Rosen-Birch ⚖️
@provisionalidea · X

@andrewrens_ria @jasoncrawford Keywords to look for are scientometrics and “publish or perish”. https://t.co/1NvgaZ0DnS https://t.co/ANu8v1ejBP https://t.co/9QjVFydr1y https://t.co/z0tEwMqPVV https://t.co/5FfGH5kIsc

Aug 16, 2023 · 10,727 followers View post →
Ash Paul
@pash22 · X

@vk_wilde @PWGTennant @susan_bewley @birthsmalltalk @adweeks @OBSevidence @inferencelab @jimgthornton @SPilleron There was a grt article by @drg1985 & @cbauch1 et al in 2018 "Modelling science trustworthiness under publish or perish pressure" https://t.co/JvzPrnBCcl https://t.co/OMf9d2Chel

Aug 2, 2023 · 2 likes · 32,362 followers View post →
Sydney B. Claridge
@sbclaridge · X

@andrewccblake @MayorMattie @TCU @TexasWesleyan @TCCollege @utarlington @tamusystem @JCHartzell @UTAustin @GoldmanCraig @UTexasMBA Not that they always have a choice, though; "publish or perish" is a huge problem in academia. Sometimes the pressure to publish research is so high that a few turned to dishonest research: https://t.co/xHpJ2SNyRS I heard all about the "replication crisis" as a psych major.

Feb 25, 2023 · 163 followers View post →
Sunshine_Appleseed
@sunshine_toes · X

@JohannaSzabo1 @carlsmythe @GiveABJGoToJail @EveJackson2011 @mcfunny @0800_KSMY_ASS @nicolas_gaboury @NTanzerin @ptcjoneses @redheadlass1402 @NathanaelYoung @dann58638436 @SerTophamHatt @thisisnothappen @Kitty_Grayling @troydee @TakethatCt @Springbok1066 @hansel21_ @TBD77 @SSZ1967 @hoothathuh @Crazycdn2 @CachePast @Adrienn_me @Joe09396262 @FatalFibers @badhatter353 @ShaneAKAProp @nononsenseat @Orwell2023 @All_Knowing_Bio @JiminyC24 @rw_christian @ryanbeed @LaymansScience @Pkdocker9 @AlBowers1 @cbeckj @Golfergirl2018 @CaryDavid722 @GlenMacafee @BerryTartlet @DaleDarcy4 @VUsuxballs @Sc_ott @real_seeking @Mattyboysmit1 @Amber84280581 @mhunt081266 Publish or Perish https://t.co/94KTc8pDek

Feb 12, 2023 · 2 likes · 1,140 followers View post →
Boe Analyst
@DataAnalystBoe · X

@drg1985 I enjoyed reading your paper, besides the obvious conclusions based on simple model (and overly complicated math) why wasn’t “conflict of interest” addressed in the paper? Wouldn’t “bribes” (funded research) have the highest impact on #fraud? https://t.co/kNIV1YlmsA

Apr 3, 2022 · 635 followers View post →
Rahim Gowa
@rahim_gowa · X

@julie_conder @mirandat00 #PSYC4180E https://t.co/G6BcY6kBa9

Mar 31, 2022 View post →
Joana Cordeiro
@joanac167 · X

#PSYC4180 #4180D #criticalthinking #trustnoone #lookatsources #scicomm #AcademicTwitter @julie_conder @chantelle0090 https://t.co/4MNr03Bn0Y

Mar 30, 2022 · 2 followers View post →
Dr David Robert Grimes
@drg1985 · X

@NoahHaber @TamarHaspel @deirdre_tobias Yup. You have a selection pressure for junk in all branches of science. Don't forget most cancer research isn't replicable either, which is a damning indictment of the system as it stands.... https://t.co/tn7OYL1SVs

Mar 29, 2022 · 4 likes · 27,728 followers View post →
Tobie Langel
@tobie · X

RT @amcasari: @juliaferraioli @tobie Yes! I do! I'm actually having a harder time finding pre-pandemic papers. This might be a good starti…

Sep 25, 2021 · 1 share · 4,284 followers View post →
Madame Treasurer commandasaurus
@amcasari · X

@juliaferraioli @tobie Yes! I do! I'm actually having a harder time finding pre-pandemic papers. This might be a good starting point: https://t.co/AvhKk7d5k6 When then leads to papers which cite it: https://t.co/VxmNxkFyjV

Sep 25, 2021 · 2 likes · 1 share · 3,705 followers View post →
Bb
@_ForeverBb · X

@ScaltritiLab @Aeon1972 https://t.co/hmtcpNGEQ1 è sempre un buon punto di partenza.

Aug 22, 2021 · 371 followers View post →
Scientific Cockroach
@MVB_science · X

Für die Schwurbler, Querdenker, Gut-Bürger und BILD-Leser die KEINE Ahnung haben wie Wissenschaft abläuft, unter welchem Druck wir stehen oder Warum Wissenschaft nicht immer eine schwarz oder weiß Antwort geben kann! https://t.co/QlQsAM3UOe

Aug 12, 2021 · 2 likes · 202 followers View post →
Wolfgang Drübbisch
@carundco · X

Falsche Corona-Studie! Prof. Dr. Brockmann vom RKI weiß, warum das kein ... https://t.co/UP84kDqm04 via @YouTube

Aug 11, 2021 · 3 followers View post →
Waldlaeuferin.bsky.social
@ichbinschoener · X

Falsche Corona-Studie! Prof. Dr. Brockmann vom RKI weiß, warum das kein ... https://t.co/MKyC8xDCya via @YouTube

Jul 30, 2021 · 5,975 followers View post →
Rose
@RoseFranck14 · X

Falsche Corona-Studie! Prof. Dr. Brockmann vom RKI weiß, warum das kein ... https://t.co/dEz89O7l6W via @YouTube

Jul 26, 2021 · 376 followers View post →
Wolfgang Wiese
@xwolf.de · Bluesky

Studien, was sie sind, wie sie entstehen, welche Probleme dabei auftreten. Ein paar Hintergründe von Breaking Lab https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0TKjozUByc

Jul 21, 2021 View post →
Emanuel Rilling
@RillingSingh · X

Mega interessant. Das (generelle) Problem wissenschaftlicher Studien und auf was man achten sollte https://t.co/3k69siNHhB

Jul 20, 2021 · 346 followers View post →
Dr David Robert Grimes
@drg1985 · X

@NoahHaber Definitely useful. Can chat next week. You probably saw this before, have more fleshed out ideas now... https://t.co/tn7OYL1SVs

Apr 16, 2021 · 1 like · 27,728 followers View post →
bioRxiv Published
@biorxiv_pubd · X

Modeling Science Trustworthiness Under Publish Or Perish Pressure published as: https://t.co/epGiLUsbXt @royalsociety #biorxiv

Aug 21, 2020 · 1 like · 2,903 followers View post →
Dave - Century Of Biology Or Bust
@DavidNohejl · X

RT @drg1985: ..for context, ~75% of preclinical research is non-reproducible. Even in cancer research, one investigation found only 11% of…

Jul 28, 2020 · 2 shares · 2,000 followers View post →
Dr David Robert Grimes
@drg1985 · X

..for context, ~75% of preclinical research is non-reproducible. Even in cancer research, one investigation found only 11% of landmark studies could be replicated. Lots of reasons for this ("bioscience is hard" is a major one) but publication pressure huge https://t.co/tn7OYL1SVs

Jul 28, 2020 · 9 likes · 2 shares · 27,728 followers View post →
Robert L Wall Jr
@RobertLWallJr1 · X

@Bacardisour @TrumpFallacy @InspiringPhilos @doofgeek4011 Here’s another one that raises a whole lot of doubt on your theory of the reliability of multiple untrustworthy rational faculties Human nature... https://t.co/RscOUW5YNg

Jul 16, 2020 · 296 followers View post →
DanMinigun
@DanMinigun · X

@dkubed3 As a closing statement from me, he was part of the study that specifically referenced the MMR myth as being a reason why some people don't 'trust' science. https://t.co/oMBtZm7jbi https://t.co/T1AtxY7mep

May 4, 2020 · 563 followers View post →
Nano-Materials Research Laboratory
@NanoYen · X

RT @ARCGrapheneHub: Congratulations to @PumeraGroup on good work and a great point here. But apart from amazing #graphene this is a part o…

Jan 16, 2020 · 1 share · 920 followers View post →
ARCGrapheneHub
@ARCGrapheneHub · X

Congratulations to @PumeraGroup on good work and a great point here. But apart from amazing #graphene this is a part of bigger problem. "Publish or perish" scientific culture is now epidemic in academic world needs global therapy. https://t.co/ReKcgFHXFu https://t.co/WC6s1WVWeK https://t.co/L0p5A2tade

Jan 16, 2020 · 2 likes · 1 share · 861 followers View post →
PhilosopherMD
@PhilosopherMD1 · X

@drmattmcfarlane @HenningWillers @theNCI @RRS_RadRes @ASTRO_org @kaelin_lab @JSheltzer Dr. M thanks for the tweets. Since we are opening Pandora's box let's go all the way: https://t.co/B9XndwkEKv ; https://t.co/Q4nbmM57vy; - On the Plague of Publish or Perish. https://t.co/qHr71n9qYh - On wrong incentives. I feel for talented scientists forced into this system

Nov 25, 2019 · 2 likes · 427 followers View post →
Alex Kostyuk
@AlexKostyuk2 · X

Publish or perish problem: funder pressure "...0.3% admitted to falsification of data, 6% to a failure to present conflicting evidence and a worrying 15.5% to changing of study design, methodology or results in response to funder pressure". #Publisher https://t.co/ZPO6PR926q

Sep 4, 2019 · 1 like · 1,296 followers View post →
Society of Neuroscience Graduate Students
@SONGSuwo · X

Please consider reading either or both of the items below: Publish or Perish—and What it Means for Undergrads (https://t.co/Zb1VyaBvbx) Modelling Science Trustworthiness under Publish or Perish Pressure (https://t.co/xW5RmAGx5w)

Mar 8, 2019 · 544 followers View post →
K. Leigh Greathouse
@CancerMicrobes · X

Modelling science trustworthiness under publish or perish pressure https://t.co/A7ITJGPKZ3

Feb 26, 2019 · 872 followers View post →
Prof Alison Van Eenennaam (@BioBeef)
@BioBeef · X

RT @phylogenomics: @ucdavis @ralphhexter At @ucdavis Ioannidis discussing models and approaches to testing reward systems in science https:…

Jan 29, 2019 · 1 share · 10,238 followers View post →
Jonathan Eisen
@phylogenomics · X

@ucdavis @ralphhexter At @ucdavis Ioannidis discussing models and approaches to testing reward systems in science https://t.co/ZoZa3rZ4Av https://t.co/GxldGNzUQs

Jan 29, 2019 · 3 likes · 1 share · 62,419 followers View post →
Dr Robert Laidlaw
@Dr_Rob_x · X

great article published last year by @drg1985, "Modelling science trustworthiness under publish or perish pressure" Discusses the top-tier journals obsession with positive findings. This so-called 'file-drawer' problem discourages…https://t.co/xOpCVLPFk4 https://t.co/cyd0jK0x5E

Jan 11, 2019 · 2,186 followers View post →
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