Research prizes are opaque and rife with bias — it’s time to shake them up

“Scientific prizes are plagued by opaque and seemingly biased selection criteria,” argues biologist Malgorzata Lagisz. She and an international group of fellow volunteers analysed a broad sample of ‘best paper’ awards. The majority of awards had failings that could open the door to discrimination or conflicts of interest, and some relied on simplistic metrics, such as citations. “Next time you see another award announcement, maybe reflect on whether this prize contributes to the reproducibility crisis and various biases rampant in academia,” she concludes.