P-Hacking: The Sneaky Threat to Scientific Integrity

Under the pressure to publish, researchers often fall prey to 'P-hacking,' the practice of manipulating analyses or data to achieve statistical significance. This can involve prematurely ending experiments, repeating experiments until a desired result is obtained, selectively reporting results, or tweaking data. While this might lead to publications, it undermines reproducibility and the reliability of scientific findings. The article highlights five common P-hacking techniques and stresses the importance of establishing data collection and analysis plans beforehand to avoid distorting scientific truth in the pursuit of significant results.