Jack Wilkinson
@jdwilko.bsky.social
Centre for Biostatistics, Uni of Manchester. INSPECT-SR, a tool to identify problematic clinical trials. Research misconduct, fertility research. Own opinions.
Pinned
Jack Wilkinson
@jdwilko.bsky.social
· Sep 5
INSPECT-SR: a tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled trials
The integrity of evidence synthesis is threatened by problematic randomised controlled trials (RCTs). These are RCTs where there are serious concerns about the trustworthiness of the data or findings....
www.medrxiv.org
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
INSPECT-SR: A tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled trials.
INSPECT-SR: A tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled trials.
Is it fine if we call it ‘INSPECT-NRS’ (Non-Randomised Studies) even though it doesn’t really make sense (CT = clinical or controlled trials)
February 17, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Is it fine if we call it ‘INSPECT-NRS’ (Non-Randomised Studies) even though it doesn’t really make sense (CT = clinical or controlled trials)
Whatever your thoughts on relative risks vs odds ratios, I hate the argument that ORs can’t be interpreted as RRs and so shouldn’t be used. Sausages are not doughnuts, and trees are not fish, what’s your point?
February 17, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Whatever your thoughts on relative risks vs odds ratios, I hate the argument that ORs can’t be interpreted as RRs and so shouldn’t be used. Sausages are not doughnuts, and trees are not fish, what’s your point?
Intro to INSPECT-SR online training workshop - this one has been timed for North America region. April 30th - I *think* this works out as 10am Pacific...but check that. www.trybooking.com/uk/GATM
INSPECT-SR Training Workshop April (N America)
An introductory 2-hour online workshop will introduce participants to the INSPECT-SR tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled...
www.trybooking.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Intro to INSPECT-SR online training workshop - this one has been timed for North America region. April 30th - I *think* this works out as 10am Pacific...but check that. www.trybooking.com/uk/GATM
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
New paper, on a worrying trend in meta-science: the practice of anonymising datasets on, e.g., published articles. We argue that this is at odds with norms established in research synthesis, explore arguments for anonymisation, provide counterpoints, and demonstrate implications and epistemic costs.
Against Anonymising Meta-Scientific Data: https://osf.io/6eyjf
February 13, 2026 at 4:50 PM
New paper, on a worrying trend in meta-science: the practice of anonymising datasets on, e.g., published articles. We argue that this is at odds with norms established in research synthesis, explore arguments for anonymisation, provide counterpoints, and demonstrate implications and epistemic costs.
Next free online INSPECT-SR training workshop on March 6th. Register here: www.trybooking.com/uk/FZUN Timed for Europe. Will try to add something for North America in the next few days...
Introduction to INSPECT-SR Training Workshop March (Europe)
An introductory 2-hour online workshop will introduce participants to the INSPECT-SR tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled...
www.trybooking.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Next free online INSPECT-SR training workshop on March 6th. Register here: www.trybooking.com/uk/FZUN Timed for Europe. Will try to add something for North America in the next few days...
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
If you're interested in data sleuthing but aren't sure where to start,
or if you're conducting a systematic review/meta-analysis and want to ensure you're not including junk studies,
check out this Cochrane training session on Trustworthiness Assessment by @jdwilko.bsky.social
or if you're conducting a systematic review/meta-analysis and want to ensure you're not including junk studies,
check out this Cochrane training session on Trustworthiness Assessment by @jdwilko.bsky.social
INSPECT-SR: A tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled trials | Cochrane
www.cochrane.org
February 2, 2026 at 6:05 PM
If you're interested in data sleuthing but aren't sure where to start,
or if you're conducting a systematic review/meta-analysis and want to ensure you're not including junk studies,
check out this Cochrane training session on Trustworthiness Assessment by @jdwilko.bsky.social
or if you're conducting a systematic review/meta-analysis and want to ensure you're not including junk studies,
check out this Cochrane training session on Trustworthiness Assessment by @jdwilko.bsky.social
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
Recording now available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8vQ...
January 26, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Recording now available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8vQ...
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
Join this grateful bunch, find out how you could use INSPECT-SR in our March session with Jack!
www.cochrane.org/events/inspe...
www.cochrane.org/events/inspe...
January 23, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Join this grateful bunch, find out how you could use INSPECT-SR in our March session with Jack!
www.cochrane.org/events/inspe...
www.cochrane.org/events/inspe...
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
Pleased to share that we were awarded a 2026 #NHMRC Ideas grant via @sydney.edu.au to study/ raise awareness of published human #CellLines that may not exist. It was a tough year, but this outcome shows that NHMRC can fund topics in #metascience, as well as laboratory & clinical research
#PaperMills
#PaperMills
January 22, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Pleased to share that we were awarded a 2026 #NHMRC Ideas grant via @sydney.edu.au to study/ raise awareness of published human #CellLines that may not exist. It was a tough year, but this outcome shows that NHMRC can fund topics in #metascience, as well as laboratory & clinical research
#PaperMills
#PaperMills
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
RegCheck is one of our group's most exciting projects IMO, and I'm particularly happy to see the codebase now be open scourced!
8/🧵
Finally, I fulfill something long-promised: a full, open-source release of the entire RegCheck codebase.
This comes with instructions on how to run RegCheck locally, both as a local implementation of the GUI, and as a standalone CLI application. Find the code here:
github.com/JamieCummins...
Finally, I fulfill something long-promised: a full, open-source release of the entire RegCheck codebase.
This comes with instructions on how to run RegCheck locally, both as a local implementation of the GUI, and as a standalone CLI application. Find the code here:
github.com/JamieCummins...
GitHub - JamieCummins/regcheck
Contribute to JamieCummins/regcheck development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:57 AM
RegCheck is one of our group's most exciting projects IMO, and I'm particularly happy to see the codebase now be open scourced!
It’s rewarding to hear from systematic reviewers who have used INSPECT-SR to identify problematic trials (when they have used it correctly!)
January 22, 2026 at 10:17 AM
It’s rewarding to hear from systematic reviewers who have used INSPECT-SR to identify problematic trials (when they have used it correctly!)
Trying to work out why all peer reviewers of systematic reviews now suggest including every sensitivity analysis ever devised (do a leave-one-out, do a sequential analysis, do p-curve, how about some outlier detection?) Is the answer ‘they are all now written by LLMs?’
January 20, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Trying to work out why all peer reviewers of systematic reviews now suggest including every sensitivity analysis ever devised (do a leave-one-out, do a sequential analysis, do p-curve, how about some outlier detection?) Is the answer ‘they are all now written by LLMs?’
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
Everyone please red this and then vigorously attack @timpmorris.bsky.social 😜
tpmorris.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...
tpmorris.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...
How to read ‘evidence pyramids’
To get past the pointless bit of the arguments
tpmorris.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Everyone please red this and then vigorously attack @timpmorris.bsky.social 😜
tpmorris.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...
tpmorris.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...
Running a free two-hour INSPECT-SR workshop tonight 10pm UK time (Thur Jan 15th). Timed for the Australians but may work for some other folks - send me a message in the next couple of hours if you’d like me to add you. INSPECT-SR is a tool to identify problematic (inc. fake) RCTs.
January 15, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Running a free two-hour INSPECT-SR workshop tonight 10pm UK time (Thur Jan 15th). Timed for the Australians but may work for some other folks - send me a message in the next couple of hours if you’d like me to add you. INSPECT-SR is a tool to identify problematic (inc. fake) RCTs.
I’m off to see Soulwax. Will that be good in 2026?
January 14, 2026 at 6:42 PM
I’m off to see Soulwax. Will that be good in 2026?
This is good. Authors ask an LLM to write a systematic review. The LLM states ‘prospectively registered’ and includes a fake registration number. When queried, authors send a corrected reg number…which has been created after the query. You love to see it. Happy new year!
January 13, 2026 at 4:50 PM
This is good. Authors ask an LLM to write a systematic review. The LLM states ‘prospectively registered’ and includes a fake registration number. When queried, authors send a corrected reg number…which has been created after the query. You love to see it. Happy new year!
I set up my Sega Saturn every year at Christmas. Whether or not I can get it working determines whether or not Christmas is ruined. Hard branching paths. Wish me luck.
December 22, 2025 at 12:05 PM
I set up my Sega Saturn every year at Christmas. Whether or not I can get it working determines whether or not Christmas is ruined. Hard branching paths. Wish me luck.
I cannot be trusted to attend a meeting without a calendar invite
December 19, 2025 at 11:04 AM
I cannot be trusted to attend a meeting without a calendar invite
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
Have you got a PhD in Statistics (or related field) and experience in Statistical Consulting? A continuing position at the Australian National University is now open 🇦🇺🦘🐨.
Would love to get an #rstats person if possible ☺️
Apply by 18 Jan 👉 jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/course-... #statssky #statsky
Would love to get an #rstats person if possible ☺️
Apply by 18 Jan 👉 jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/course-... #statssky #statsky
Course Coordinator - Canberra / ACT, ACT, Australia
Classification: Academic Level BSalary package: $121,598 – 137,870 per annum plus 17% superannuation Terms: Full-time, Continuing (flexible arrangements, job share, or part time hours will be consider...
jobs.anu.edu.au
December 19, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Have you got a PhD in Statistics (or related field) and experience in Statistical Consulting? A continuing position at the Australian National University is now open 🇦🇺🦘🐨.
Would love to get an #rstats person if possible ☺️
Apply by 18 Jan 👉 jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/course-... #statssky #statsky
Would love to get an #rstats person if possible ☺️
Apply by 18 Jan 👉 jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/course-... #statssky #statsky
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
Out today in @annalsofim.bsky.social
doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...
Our systematic review of 11 RCTs found bisphosphonates may reduce short-term pain but increase risk for AEs. Results limited by substantial, unexplained heterogeneity, introduced by inclusion of terminated trial data.
doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...
Our systematic review of 11 RCTs found bisphosphonates may reduce short-term pain but increase risk for AEs. Results limited by substantial, unexplained heterogeneity, introduced by inclusion of terminated trial data.
Efficacy and Safety of Bisphosphonates for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol 0, No 0
Background: Clinical guidelines recommend bisphosphonates for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) despite limited evidence of efficacy. Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety of bisphosphonat...
doi.org
December 16, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Out today in @annalsofim.bsky.social
doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...
Our systematic review of 11 RCTs found bisphosphonates may reduce short-term pain but increase risk for AEs. Results limited by substantial, unexplained heterogeneity, introduced by inclusion of terminated trial data.
doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...
Our systematic review of 11 RCTs found bisphosphonates may reduce short-term pain but increase risk for AEs. Results limited by substantial, unexplained heterogeneity, introduced by inclusion of terminated trial data.
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
You might be interested in the scrutiny R package
lhdjung.github.io/scrutiny/ind...
and the associated webapp
errors.shinyapps.io/scrutiny/
lhdjung.github.io/scrutiny/ind...
and the associated webapp
errors.shinyapps.io/scrutiny/
Error detection in science
Test published summary statistics for consistency and reconstruct some of the processes which created them. The package aims to make these methods easy to use in a tidyverse-friendly way, helping the ...
lhdjung.github.io
December 10, 2025 at 8:16 AM
You might be interested in the scrutiny R package
lhdjung.github.io/scrutiny/ind...
and the associated webapp
errors.shinyapps.io/scrutiny/
lhdjung.github.io/scrutiny/ind...
and the associated webapp
errors.shinyapps.io/scrutiny/
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
We might be at a stage where systematic reviews without checks of trustworthiness become a problem in itself - even a danger to patients, as these reviews are considered as highest level of evidence and the foundation of guidelines and clinical practice
Currently busy with updating a systematic review and have the impression that the flood of "clinical studies" from certain countries is intensifying - results too good to be true: enduring effects (usually uncommon), no drop-out, perfectly balanced sample sizes etc.
December 3, 2025 at 8:35 PM
We might be at a stage where systematic reviews without checks of trustworthiness become a problem in itself - even a danger to patients, as these reviews are considered as highest level of evidence and the foundation of guidelines and clinical practice
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
Superb and enlightening, if quite disturbing webinar. The recording is now up on the @chemistryworld.com YouTube channel.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWj5...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWj5...
Restoring integrity: tackling fraud and data manipulation in scientific research
YouTube video by Chemistry World
www.youtube.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Superb and enlightening, if quite disturbing webinar. The recording is now up on the @chemistryworld.com YouTube channel.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWj5...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWj5...
Reposted by Jack Wilkinson
#rstats
It is with profound sadness I heard that my long-time friend and colleague, John Fox passed away this week.
He was the author of {car}, {effects}, {Rcmdr}, ... and numerous influential books. I will miss him greatly.
www.john-fox.ca
It is with profound sadness I heard that my long-time friend and colleague, John Fox passed away this week.
He was the author of {car}, {effects}, {Rcmdr}, ... and numerous influential books. I will miss him greatly.
www.john-fox.ca
John Fox: Books and Software
www.john-fox.ca
November 28, 2025 at 3:26 PM
#rstats
It is with profound sadness I heard that my long-time friend and colleague, John Fox passed away this week.
He was the author of {car}, {effects}, {Rcmdr}, ... and numerous influential books. I will miss him greatly.
www.john-fox.ca
It is with profound sadness I heard that my long-time friend and colleague, John Fox passed away this week.
He was the author of {car}, {effects}, {Rcmdr}, ... and numerous influential books. I will miss him greatly.
www.john-fox.ca