The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

Open Science Practices to Support Addiction Research

Editor’s note: This op-ed was written by David Mellor, PhD, of the Center for Open Science, as part of this month’s Special Series on Open Science Practices in addiction research. Being able to replicate a colleague’s reported empirical observations is a central premise of how scientific discoveries are expected to be disseminated. This ideal has been central to the expectations of scientific processes for centuries and separates credible findings from incredible observations. The motto of the Royal Society, “Nullius in verba” or “On the word of no one,” exemplifies this ideal by specifying that demonstrating a finding is more important... Read more →

Can the Open Science Revolution Revolutionise Gambling Research?

Editor’s Note: This editorial was written by Drs. Robert Heirene & Sally Gainsbury as part of our Special Series on Open Science Practices. The crisis Over the last 8-10 years there has been a sharp increase in meta-research––that is, research of research; studies of studies. These studies have highlighted a host of poor practices used by scientists when conducting and reporting their research, including P-hacking, (S)HARKing, biased publication decisions, selective outcome reporting, and the use of small, under-powered sample sizes (see Box 1). These practices pose serious concerns for our confidence in the scientific enterprise and are thought to be... Read more →

Introduction to The BASIS Special Series on Open Science Practices

During January 1996, the Division on Addiction created The WAGER, which was the precursor to The BASIS. We created The WAGER because academic research, including addiction research, often is locked behind paywalls. This history suggests that The WAGER was an early open science initiative. We have carried this support for open science forward into our work for The BASIS. The BASIS’s mission is to minimize addiction’s harmful effects by providing the general public, treatment providers, policy makers and others with access to addiction research. Today, interest in open science is growing, in part due to the replication crisis first observed... Read more →

The BASIS Year In Review - 2019

Another successful year of The BASIS has come to a close. In 2019, we continued to cover important advances in addiction research. We also presented Special Series on Gambling Disorder, Addiction and Stigma, and Addiction and Social Media featuring many insightful op-eds. For instance, former Director of National Drug Control Policy Michael Botticelli and Massachusetts Director of Programs for The Phoenix Sydney Durand explained how stigma affects recovery from addiction. Cyberaddiction experts Dr. Stephanie Diez and Dr. David Greenfield highlighted the dangers of excessive social media use. And Lisa Lundrigan shared the powerful story of her father’s recovery from gambling... Read more →

What’s Next in Open Science for the Division on Addiction?

During 2009, the Division on Addiction (Division) announced the launch of the Transparency Project,1 a free open access data archive for addiction-related research, especially that which is funded by private interests. This launch reflected our own interests in accelerating addiction science and increasing public and professional trust in published addiction research. Regarding professional trust and open data, we noted, “Ultimately, to the benefit of health providers as well as to political and legal decision-makers deciding on complex addiction-related issues, the Transparency Project will enhance confidence in scientific findings,” (Shaffer, LaPlante, Chao, Planzer, LaBrie, & Nelson, 2009, p. 7). Consistently, the Pew Research Center recently published a report indicating that public confidence in research is greater when researchers engage in data sharing and other contemporary open science practices. Read more →

One More Hit of Facebook: Social Media, or Social Menace?

Editor’s Note: This editorial was written by Dr. David Greenfield as part of our Special Series on Addiction and Social Media. One more snort of Snapchat. One more tweak of Twitter. One more hit of something sort-of- social and we will feel better, right? Wrong. With our ever-present screens we have learned to avoid our aloneness, fear or isolation and we mask unwanted feelings by escaping into mindless scrolling, liking and commenting. We lose hours of our productive time voyeuristically viewing, chatting, and snapping selfies to share with our 1000 virtual friends. Sometimes more is less, and less is more... Read more →

Social media and addiction: How a tool for communication can make us feel our needs for social connection are being met

Editor’s Note: This editorial was written by Dr. Stephanie Diez as part of our Special Series on Addiction and Social Media. The future is now. We live in an era where constant technological marvels, engineering feats and scientific breakthroughs are being made almost every single day. With these advancements, daily activities that were once ideals of science fiction are now realities. Within our pockets, we grasp smart phones and other devices that provide the convenience of constant connectedness through the Internet. We are able to contact family, friends, colleagues, and strangers through various social media platforms online in the matter... Read more →

Op-ed: How The Phoenix and the Red Sox are partnering to change the stigma of addiction

Even in a nation that has spent substantial resources combatting the addiction epidemic, for many there remain significant barriers to accessing care, such as long waiting lists for treatment beds, high financial cost to receiving quality care and lack of long-term recovery support services. While the US has made significant strides in bending the curve of addiction related deaths in recent years, many of these challenges will require additional financial investment, time and innovation to meet the need. One less tangible, but equally strong barrier to overcoming addiction however, is the concept of stigma. Read more →

How stigma thwarts evidence-based and compassionate public policy

Editor’s Note: This editorial was written by Michael Botticelli as part of our Special Series on Stigma and Addiction. There may be no more dangerous contributor to the current opioid epidemic than stigma. Stigma is the lack of respect for a person or a group of people because they have done something or have traits of which society disapproves. And stigma isn’t just an abstract concept – it’s present every day in how society perceives people with a substance use disorder (SUD). People with a SUD are referred to as addicts, junkies and worse. When we call people things like... Read more →

Introduction to the Special Series on Stigma and Addiction

According to a nationally representative survey, 80% of people who have experienced alcohol use disorder and 75% of people who have experienced a drug use disorder have never sought treatment for their addiction. One of the reasons for these low rates of treatment seeking is stigma. Read more →