Inspired by “bug bounty” programs common in technology, ERROR wants to “incentivize” outside researchers to find and fix errors in published work, especially in the social and behavioral sciences.
Experts will receive a “base fee” for each study analyzed, as well as bonuses for finding errors. The bigger the mistake, the bigger the reward.
Researchers whose work is reviewed are paid a fee for their preparatory work and an additional bonus if their work is error-free (or has minor problems).
The initiative’s authors note that traditional peer review, which is often overloaded and lacking in financial incentives, allows errors to be overlooked. ERROR aims to “provide a more comprehensive system for identifying errors in data, code and methodology.”
A pilot program initiated by the University of Bern is currently running. Although only one review was completed (minor errors were detected), the project sent out approximately 60 invitations for papers to be considered, and 13 authors agreed to participate.
Source: Ferra
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