Estimating the Reliability and Robustness of Research (ERROR), launched in 2024 at the University of Bern (UBern), aims to investigate the scientific rigor of important papers in the social sciences, which have been plagued by questionable results. The organizers recruit independent experts to recheck the studies’ data, statistics, methodology, and code. A project has run into trouble: It can’t find enough reviewers to do the work.

Because few scientists voluntarily spend time combing through colleagues’ work, ERROR offers reviewers a base fee of 250 to 1000 Swiss francs (roughly $300 to $1200), and bonuses of up to 2500 francs if they spot errors, depending on their severity. ERROR found “money itself is not enough of an incentive,” says ERROR co-founder Malte Elson, a psychologist at UBern, which funded the effort. The project planned to carry out 100 in-depth critiques in 4 years, but only nine have been completed so far, with eight more in the works. Only one of the nine studies ERROR examined so far was found to contain no errors, Elson says, although errors in several of the other studies were “minor” and did not affect the conclusions.

Source https://www.science.org/content/article/offering-scientists-cash-spot-errors-published-papers-doesn-t-work

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