The title of this book is a morbid wordplay about the “death of rigor” in biomedical research. Richard Harris, a frequent commentator on NPR, provides a timely review of issues that are risks to the long term success of biomedical research. Working in “big data” I frequently find myself raising concerns about reproducibility. While he doesn’t focus on “big data” in this book, Harris provides excellent coverage of issues that are contributing to the “crisis of reproducibility”, including:
Incorrect identification of cell culture lines
Poor quality statistical analysis
Poor choice of animal model
Pressure to publish too soon
Harris raises a number of suggestions about how these issues can be mitigated. For example, there are services that will validate the identity of cell lines. He also encourages the publication of negative findings. The process of doing science is subject to human errors, foibles and egos. This book provides a solid review of the risks and some initial suggestions of a path forward.
