Politics: Research Politics

I would say that this comic is funny, but unfortunately it is too true to be funny.

Back when I was getting my Master's I learned a few things about research. Number one is that your research is always driven by the person paying for it. If the grant manager doesn't end up happy, you won't end up happy. Number two is that your research work is always decided by your advisor who generally is paying your bills.

The practical impact of this that research is a political game. I had often had to balance the wishes of two advisors. Even with one advisor, I had to test the theories they were already invested in even if I knew they were wrong. On a larger scale, grant money means doing their research their way. Telling someone the answer they want to hear is easy. Telling that they are wrong (and continuing to get paid for it) is tougher. Telling someone that they have been wasting their money for years is downright challenging.

And that doesn't even get around to the fact that peer review generally just checks to see if your articles are written well and has nothing to do with actually looking at your data.