Research culture influences in health and biomedical research: rapid scoping review and content analysis

Background: Research culture is strongly influenced by academic incentives and pressures such as the imperative to publish in academic journals, and can influence the nature and quality of the evidence we produce.

Objective: The purpose of this rapid scoping review is to capture the breadth of differential pressures and contributors to current research culture, drawing together content from empirical research specific to the health and biomedical sciences.

Study Design and Setting: PubMed and Web of Science were searched for empirical studies of influences and impacts on health and biomedical research culture, published between January 2012 and April 2024. Data charting extracted the key findings and relationships in research culture from included papers such as workforce composition; equitable access to research; academic journal trends, incentives, and reproducibility; erroneous research; questionable research practices; biases vested interests; and misconduct. A diverse author network was consulted to ensure content validity of the proposed framework of i) inclusivity, ii) transparency, iii) rigor, and iv) objectivity.

Results: A growing field of studies examining research culture exists ranging from the inclusivity of the scientific workforce, the transparency of the data generated, the rigor of the methods used and the objectivity of the researchers involved. Figurative diagrams are presented to storyboard the links between research culture content and findings.

Conclusion: The wide range of research culture influences in the recent literature indicates the need for coordinated and sustained research culture conversations. Core principles in effective research environments should include inclusive collaboration and diverse research workforces, rigorous methodological approaches, transparency, data sharing, and reflection on scientific objectivity.