Quantifying research waste in ecology

TY - JOUR

T1 - Quantifying research waste in ecology

AU - Purgar, Marija

AU - Klanjscek, Tin

AU - Culina, Antica

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Research inefficiencies can generate huge waste: evidence from biomedical research has shown that most research is avoidably wasted and steps have been taken to tackle this costly problem. Although other scientific fields could also benefit from identifying and quantifying waste and acting to reduce it, no other estimates of research waste are available. Given that ecological issues interweave most of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we argue that tackling research waste in ecology should be prioritized. Our study leads the way. We estimate components of waste in ecological research based on a literature review and a meta-analysis. Shockingly, our results suggest only 11–18% of conducted ecological research reaches its full informative value. All actors within the research system—including academic institutions, policymakers, funders and publishers—have a duty towards science, the environment, study organisms and the public, to urgently act and reduce this considerable yet preventable loss. We discuss potential ways forward and call for two major actions: (1) further research into waste in ecology (and beyond); (2) focused development and implementation of solutions to reduce unused potential of ecological research.

AB - Research inefficiencies can generate huge waste: evidence from biomedical research has shown that most research is avoidably wasted and steps have been taken to tackle this costly problem. Although other scientific fields could also benefit from identifying and quantifying waste and acting to reduce it, no other estimates of research waste are available. Given that ecological issues interweave most of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we argue that tackling research waste in ecology should be prioritized. Our study leads the way. We estimate components of waste in ecological research based on a literature review and a meta-analysis. Shockingly, our results suggest only 11–18% of conducted ecological research reaches its full informative value. All actors within the research system—including academic institutions, policymakers, funders and publishers—have a duty towards science, the environment, study organisms and the public, to urgently act and reduce this considerable yet preventable loss. We discuss potential ways forward and call for two major actions: (1) further research into waste in ecology (and beyond); (2) focused development and implementation of solutions to reduce unused potential of ecological research.

U2 - 10.1038/s41559-022-01820-0

DO - 10.1038/s41559-022-01820-0

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85134644541

SN - 2397-334X

VL - 6

SP - 1390

EP - 1397

JO - Nature Ecology and Evolution

JF - Nature Ecology and Evolution

IS - 9

ER -