Does anyone know if there are any official channels or institutions for report cases of scientific misconduct or scientific fraud?
This PACE publication need to be brought to their attention.
When researchers conclude in their study's abstract, as they did in the
PACE study publication, that:
Conclusions. This study confirms that recovery from CFS is possible, and that CBT and GET are the therapies most likely to lead to recovery.
then you are deliberately perverting the truth; otherwise known as lying.
The deceptive trick employed by the authors of this study is this: these authors completely redefine the meaning of the word "
recovery" using abstruse semantic subtleties within body of the text of their study, so that, under this totally new meaning of the term "
recovery", many ME/CFS can be said to be, ahem, "
recovered" following CBT/GET treatment.
However, when an individual just reads the study's abstract, there is no indication that the word "
recovery" used therein has been totally redefined by the authors, and thus the causal reader will erroneously assume that the word "
recovery" just carries its normal English meaning, which
in the dictionary is defined "
a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength".
Thus many people reading this PACE study authored by White, Goldsmith, Johnson, Chalder and Sharpe will be led to erroneously believe that CBT/GET can return a ME/CFS to a normal state of health, which is not the case at all.
I think this dishonest, deceptive trick used by the authors is a genuine case scientific misconduct and fraud.
If you are going to redefine your terms and the words you use, you need to make sure that the precise definitions of these terms are clearly given, so that there can be no misinterpretations.
It seems apparent that the authors of this PACE study actually
want their completely redefined word "
recovery" to be misinterpreted. Thus, this is not a
mistake by the PACE study authors, but is in fact
fraudulent.
Thus, as a representation of data that is effectively
scientific fraud, this published PACE study needs to be reported.
So I ask again if anyone knows of the correct channels through which to report scientific misconduct or fraud?
IVI, you may know about this.
I personally would like to write to report this misconduct.
And this PACE study publication certainly needs reporting to an appropriate body within the NHS, otherwise busy NHS doctors, who only have time to scan study abstracts, may read this PACE study, and then get the completely incorrect impression that GET/CBT can actually cure ME/CFS, and furthermore, these busy doctors will get the mistaken impression that ME/CFS is just a trivial condition easy fixed by a bit of exercise and a few chats with a CBT therapist.
This PACE study publication is serious scientific fraud that needs to be brought to attention, and the authors to justice.