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The Conversation US: How a study about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was doctored

The public relies on scientists to report their findings accurately and completely, but that does not always happen. Too often, researchers announce only their most favorable outcomes, while keeping more disappointing results well out of sight.

This phenomenon, first identified by the psychologist Robert Rosenthal in 1979, is called the “file drawer problem.” Although it is widely recognized – affecting drug trials, psychology experiments and most other fields – it has seldom been documented, for obvious reasons. Suppressed results are, well, suppressed, and they are usually discovered only by chance.

It was therefore almost unprecedented when a group of patients, at the end of last year, successfully unmasked the skewed data behind an influential British study, first published in Lancet in 2011, of the devastating disease known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (sometimes called myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME/CFS).
http://theconversation.com/how-a-st...-was-doctored-adding-to-pain-and-stigma-74890

Article by Steven Lubet, Professor of Law and signatory to the recent open letter on PACE.
 
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Thanks, @JoanDublin, this looks very useful and I shall certainly keep a copy. I was thinking of something shorter and easier to read. Maybe I'll use the recent New Scientist piece. Anyway, this is off topic for this thread, so I won't ask for more responses.
 
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I wonder when the BBC will pick up on all this kicking off, and what their take on it will be? And how they might attempt to explain only ever reporting the stories spoon fed to them by the SMC, rather than doing real investigative journalism (like they used to once upon a time), and proactively look for the real stories behind and around the ones suspiciously placed in front of their noses. I used to have huge respect for the BBC's investigative journalism.
 
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Solstice

Senior Member
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641
Posted this on a dutch newsforum. Wanted to relate this to some quotes about the dutch Fitnet-trial. But I can't quite figure out how yet. Anyone here that can help? I think it should include the results announced by the dutch team and one or more quotes about it having a null result at long term follow up. But dunno where to look and search-engines aren't of much help right now. Bit foggy too.
 
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Posted this on a dutch newsforum. Wanted to relate this to some quotes about the dutch Fitnet-trial. But I can't quite figure out how yet. Anyone here that can help? I think it should include the results announced by the dutch team and one or more quotes about it having a null result at long term follow up. But dunno where to look and search-engines aren't of much help right now. Bit foggy too.

Is this of use? http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00431-013-2234-x