2 December 2025

The reproducibility crisis - What can we do about it?

Despite widespread general awareness of the problem and existing consensus on what constitutes good reproducible research practice, academic clinical research often lacks consistent approaches. A Swiss-wide survey aims to identify the state of reproducible research, and to identify concrete barriers. This will assist in establishing measures addressing these barriers. Researchers and scientific staff are invited to contribute.

The "reproducibility crisis" describes a systemic failure to deliver valid and verifiable research results. Results can often not be reproduced due to imprecisely reported methodology and statistics, lack of transparency and publication pressure. Even fundamental assumptions in research may be unreliable^1,2 -a situation that undermines trust in science and medicine.

In order to address barriers preventing widespread implementation of reproducible research practices, a meta-research project funded by the Swiss Clinical Trial Organization (SCTO) and involving the Swiss Clinical Trial Unit (CTU) network reaches out to academic researchers and scientific staff throughout Switzerland. Views from researcher and scientific staff including their requirements with regards to research reproducibility will constitute the basis for developing tools and measures to improve current problems and shortcomings.

References

1 Baker, M. (2016). 1,500 scientists lift the lid on reproducibility. Nature 533, 452-454. https://doi.org/10.1038/533452a
2 Ioannidis J.P.A. (2005). Why most published research findings are false. PLOS Med 2(8): e124. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124