In addition to measurement problems, and definitional problems (is p-hacking “fraud” or just bad methodology?), I think “academia” is too broad to meaningfully answer this question.
Different disciplines, and even different topics within a discipline will have a very different distribution of quality of research, including multiple components—specificity of topic, design of mechanism, data collection, and application of testing methodology. AND in clarity and transparency, for whether others can easily replicate the results, AND agree or disagree with the interpretation. AND in importance of result, whether anyone seriously tries to replicate or contradict a finding.
Then there are selection effects. To the degree that popular media and political/personal discussions of interesting topics are biased and untrustworthy, their choice of WHICH academic papers to use as evidence is likely to have the same biases. Not necessarily massive fraud, but less reliable in terms of conclusions than a random sampling.
obMontyPython:
Sir John Cunningham : May I take this opportunity of emphasizing that there is no cannibalism in the British Navy, absolutely none. And when I say none, I mean there is a certain amount, more than I personally admit.
In addition to measurement problems, and definitional problems (is p-hacking “fraud” or just bad methodology?), I think “academia” is too broad to meaningfully answer this question.
Different disciplines, and even different topics within a discipline will have a very different distribution of quality of research, including multiple components—specificity of topic, design of mechanism, data collection, and application of testing methodology. AND in clarity and transparency, for whether others can easily replicate the results, AND agree or disagree with the interpretation. AND in importance of result, whether anyone seriously tries to replicate or contradict a finding.
Then there are selection effects. To the degree that popular media and political/personal discussions of interesting topics are biased and untrustworthy, their choice of WHICH academic papers to use as evidence is likely to have the same biases. Not necessarily massive fraud, but less reliable in terms of conclusions than a random sampling.
obMontyPython: