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Systematic Reviewers Have an Obligation to Promote Research Integrity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2025

Lisa Bero Open the ORCID record for Lisa Bero [Opens in a new window]
Lisa Bero*
Affiliation:
Professor of Medicine and Public Health, Chief Scientist, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA and Senior Research Integrity Editor, Cochrane, London, UK
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Systematic reviewers are ideally placed to detect untrustworthy studies and decrease their use in decision making. The systematic review process already requires rigorous evaluation of an entire body of evidence related to a particular question. Excluding untrustworthy studies from systematic reviews can reduce their subsequent impact on evidence used for decisions and raise awareness of the problem among universities, journal editors, research funders and other stakeholders who can take appropriate action to eliminate them from the scientific literature.

Keywords

research integrity
Type
Symposium
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , First View , pp. 1 - 6
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics

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