Unreliable Research: are librarians liable?

Abstract

Examines the history and current cases of research fraud and deception, including the reasons for researcher transgression — reputation and career advancement, the chances of being caught, and the ineffective gatekeeper roles served by publishers and reviewers. It appears that librarians and LIS researchers are unlikely to conduct or publish unreliable research, but problems can arise when librarians distribute unreliable research in their collections. The wisdom of withdrawing all unreliable research from the collection is questioned, however, as some of this research may contain grains of truth that could result in future, reliable research.