Summer Reading List: Why Most Published Research Findings Are False

The UC Berkeley Summer Reading List is an annual compilation of recommended (though not required) readings suggested by Cal faculty, staff, and students as a welcome to incoming freshmen and transfer students.

This week we take a closer look at

“Why Most Published Research Findings Are False”

John P.A. Ioaniddis

PLoS Med, August 30, 2005

“This paper scares the hell out of me every time I read it! Many have suggested that the ways in which we perform and choose to publish scientific research are less than optimal. Ioannidis explores precisely what sorts of studies we ought to be suspicious of, and why, clearly and rigorously. We live in a culture that inundates us with discoveries, and this paper will help you to decide which of those discoveries are likely to be “real,” and likely to last the test of time.”

— TERRY D. JOHNSON Lecturer, Head of Undergraduate Advising Bioengineering

This post was contributed by

Michael Larkin Lecturer, College Writing Programs

Tim Dilworth First Year Coordinator, Library

Jonathan Garrett Site designer, Doe & Moffitt Libraries