The Proteus phenomenon is the tendency in
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
for early
replications of a work to contradict the original findings, a consequence of
publication bias. It is akin to the
winner's curse.
The term was coined by
John Ioannidis
John P. A. Ioannidis (; el, Ιωάννης Ιωαννίδης, ; born August 21, 1965) is a Greek-American physician-scientist, writer and Stanford University professor who has made contributions to evidence-based medicine, epidemiology, and cl ...
and Thomas A. Trikalinos in 2005 named after the Greek god
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...
who could rapidly change his appearance. A 2013 paper argued that the phenomenon might be "desirable or even optimal" from a scientific standpoint.
See also
*
Reproducibility
*
Reproducibility Project
*
Metascience
Metascience (also known as meta-research) is the use of scientific methodology to study science itself. Metascience seeks to increase the quality of scientific research while reducing inefficiency. It is also known as "''research on research''" ...
References
Criticism of academia
Academic publishing
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