Unpopular science: You can’t please all of the people all of time

Published: 20 October 2020

Public Health’s Claire Hastie reflects on the response to a recent publication and what other early career researchers might learn from her experience

Public Health’s Claire Hastie reflects on the response to a recent publication and what other early career researchers might learn from her experience

Early on in lockdown I was first author on a paper exploring the association between blood serum vitamin D and COVID-19 risk in UK Biobank participants.1

It was a “negative” finding, in that after adjustment for confounding variables we observed no association. Not worthy of a high impact journal. But nevertheless, I was delighted/relieved to have published anything whilst home schooling my children (including making them do PE With Joe every day in an unpleasant sergeant-majorly manner). This was followed by an article with updated case numbers and COVID-19 mortality data, with the same pattern of observations.2

I have received an unanticipated response, both positive and negative. I was interviewed and quoted by a science writer for the New York Times! (mum and dad very happy). And the paper was part of the (limited) evidence that contributed to a NICE statement.3 However, what has surprised me most is the number of commentators who do not agree with our findings. I have received several emails (and a couple of tweets) from people telling me why I am wrong, and what they think I should read that will convince me of this. Apparently there are more but the corresponding author has spared me. And numerous publications have criticised our methods.

What have I learned that might be worth passing on to other early career researchers?

  • Just because you do not have an agenda doesn’t mean others will not infer one.
  • We can only report our findings as they are, whilst acknowledging limitations.
  • A “negative” finding in a low impact journal can have impact.
  • A little bit of controversy helps your citation record.
  1. Hastie CE, Mackay DF, Ho F, et al (2020) Vitamin D concentrations and COVID-19 infection in UK Biobank. Diabetes Metab Syndr Clin Res Rev 14:561–565.
  2. Hastie CE, Pell JP, Sattar N (2020) Vitamin D and COVID-19 infection and mortality in UK Biobank. Eur J Nutr: Online 26th August.
  3. NICE. COVID-19 rapid evidence summary:vitamin D for COVID-19. 

Claire Hastie
Research Associate (Public Health)

First published: 20 October 2020

<< October 2020