Using Phenomenography to Study Factors Affecting the Propagation of Invalid Science

Nowadays, the academic integrity suffers from invalid science. Researchers may use this bogus research and conduct their studies based on them, and present invalid findings. Identifying main factors which lead to junk science propagation can be important and this study aimed to determine factors which are affecting the propagation of junk science by using phenomenography .
This study used phenomenography, a qualitative research methodology, by purposive sampling. The research was conducted by interview as the main tool for data collection and included 12 participants. Participants were the researchers who had knowledge and experience in the domain. During the research, 8 descriptive categories were identified and final findings were presented in outcome space.
There are different factors affecting the propagation of invalid science and by considering publishing process, we can classify them in the three stages including: creating, evaluating, and publishing science. The results of this study are presented in the form of a process that shows how these factors are related to each other.
Based on this study findings, we can conclude that creating, evaluating, and publishing scientific materials should be considered to prevent propagation of invalid science. Also, we should consider both low and high-quality journals plus ethical and dishonest researchers.