Keep Your Work Fear-Free with the “Horrors of Bad Research” Workshop Series

Beware the pit! Flawed research becomes particularly pernicious during spooky season. Luckily for UK researchers, the Medical Center Library (MCL) has a whole host of skills and tools to keep researchers protected – and they’re all available on Zoom. 

Clinically proven to be more effective than a string of garlic, the four workshops of the “Horrors of Bad Research” mini-series will address some of the frightening consequences of flawed research, along with strategies for keeping your work fear-free. 

“There’s a lot of problematic research out there,” said Health Sciences Librarian Rebecca Morgan. “It can range from outright fraud to the deceptive spinning of results to a careless or sloppy methodology. The goal of this series is to help researchers become better consumers of scholarly literature by equipping them with the skills and tools they need to recognize common issues in research and better appraise the work they encounter.” 

A subset of the MCL’s Fall 2024 Research Workshop Series, the “Horrors” series will cover a lot of ghoulish ground, from common errors found in systematic reviews to the potential pitfalls of generative AI and the perils of data disasters.

The workshops center on the health sciences and take a clinical perspective, but will be helpful to anyone who is interested in learning about common flaws in research.

The Horrors of Bad Research Series

Held at noon on Zoom, the workshops are free to attend and open to all UK students, faculty, staff, and affiliated researchers. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged for anyone attending the workshops. All attendees who have registered will be sent the slides and recording. Both will be posted and publicly available on the MCL's Research Workshop Series Guide the next day.

Below, find detailed descriptions and registration links for each of the workshops. Please contact mclib@uky.edu with any questions.
 

• The Horrors of Bad Research, Part 1: Dodge Deception with Critical Appraisal
  • Wednesday, September 25, 2024
  • 12pm - 1pm
  • Whether it’s a large-scale deception or the small-scale spinning of results, bad research is everywhere and it’s impacting clinical practice. This presentation will discuss the scope of the problem and inform participants of ways they can become more informed consumers of health sciences literature through critical appraisal. 
  • Register here.
     
• The Horrors of Bad Research, Part 2: The Growing Systematic Review Monster
  • Wednesday, October 9, 2024
  • 12pm - 1pm
  • Systematic reviews are an increasingly popular study that has long been considered a “gold standard” of evidence synthesis. However, a quick look at published reviews shows that many fall quite short of the gold standard moniker. Why are so many failing to meet the necessary high standards? And what should you know about standards and requirements before you take on an advanced review project? 
  • Register here.
     
• The Horrors of Bad Research, Part 3: It’s Alive? Issues with Artificial Intelligence
  • Wednesday, October 16, 2024
  • 12pm - 1pm
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) is an ever-growing presence in our lives, and it has its benefits. However, misunderstandings of AI’s limitations have led to it being misused in research. Learn about the proper and improper application of AI in health sciences research and how it’s impacting health sciences literature. 
  • Register here.
     
• Data Disasters: How to Avoid Horror Stories in Data Management
  • Wednesday, October 23, 2024
  • 12pm - 1pm
  • If not managed well, research data can go wrong in any number of ways, and the consequences range from minor inconveniences to retractions of published findings. Fortunately, you can protect yourself from data disasters large and small using good data management techniques. This presentation will cover some all-too-common data horror stories that researchers experience and how you can guard against them. 
  • Register here.

Looking for more ways to improve your research? Visit our Research Workshops & Tutorials page to find all of UK Libraries’ offerings, including our Digital Scholarship & Data Workshops & Events.