Science, Bent

Thomas O. McGarity and Wendy E. Wagner wrote Bending Science: How Special Interests Corrupt Public Health Research, to describe how scientific research can be corrupted before, during, and after the study is designed and completed in order to skew the results toward a particular point of view. Unfortunately, it is difficult for judges, legislators, and the public to tell when medical studies, reviews, and guidelines are being manipulated for a biased purpose.

The authors describe how research can be bent:

Shaping Science -- ..."Commission research designed to
produce a particular outcome"

Hiding Science -- "suppress the unwelcome
findings"

Attacking Science -- "launching ilegitimate attacks on
damaging research"

Harassing Scientists -- "a full-scale assault on the
integrity of the researcher"

Packaging Science -- "commissioning review articles that
purport to summarize existing research on a topic but... portray existing
research in the light most favorable to the sponsor."

Spinning Research -- "portraying damaging research as
'fatally flawed'...to generate pressure on decision-makers to discount
it." (p. 39-40)

The authors recognized that big business and advocacy groups could both be at fault for bending the science to meet their pre-conceived ideas. When looking at Lyme medical information, we have to constantly ask, Who is telling me this? How do they know this? Do their definitions of the disease and its treatment fit with what is known?

When presented with the facts, we need to adjust our thinking, not the data.


McGarity, T.O. and Wagner, W.E. (2008) Bending Science: How Special Interests Corrupt Public Health Research. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.