Table 1.

Categories of scientific rigor

Rigor level	Name	Description	Outcome
Rigor L6	Insidious rigor	Scientist purposely engages in falsifying data from initial grant review to publication	Misleading
			Misconduct
			Possibly criminal
Rigor L5	Creative rigor	Scientist deliberately targets or avoids targets where rigor need to be applied; shows best results to support hypothesis; cherry-picking data	Misleading
			Low chance of reproducibility
Rigor L4	Careless rigor	Scientist randomly applies rigor only when necessary or if asked to (e.g. verify cell lines)	Modest chance of reproducibility
Rigor L3	Selective rigor	Scientist applies rigor where their experience dictates it necessary. Logic.	Good chance of reproducibility
Rigor L2	Careful rigor	Scientist carefully applies rigor	High chance of reproducibility
Rigor L1	Enduring rigor	Results are independently repeated	Reproducible