3 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Ask Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology
I was wondering what happens with papers and results of unethical research (e.g. Mengele and similar)?
Comment by JLPK at 12/03/2025 at 22:26 UTC
9 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Depends what you mean by "unethical!" If it is because of fraud or fabrication, then if detected it leads to retracting the paper. There are websites like Retraction Watch that are dedicated to tracking this process. However, if you mean (as your mentioning of Mengele suggests) that the study does not meet standards of ethical treatment of its subjects, the answer is usually... nothing. Consider the example of the Stanford Prison Experiment, the 1971 experiment at Stanford in which students were assigned as either guards or prisoners. The study is considered notrious today, but its lead author, Philip Zimbardo, used the experience to testify to Congress. While nothing happens to the papers per se, you will see future studies do not replicate their methods and instead adapt to the standards of their day.