When Researchers Undermine Their Own Evidence: The Emergence of “Reverse Spin Bias”
A new study by O’Leary et al (2026) published in Research Integrity and Peer Review introduces a striking, unexplored phenomenon in academic research: “reverse spin bias.”
Unlike conventional spin bias, where authors frame nonsignificant results as significant or meaningful, reverse spin bias occurs when evidence of benefit is ultimately discounted or discredited by the very authors who produced it.