An international problem. A study supported by the Icelandic Research Council. If correct, this represents an annual waste of 20 billion UK pounds. Formally adequate checking of the information base is uncommon and often non-existent.
Simple observation reveals the hollowness of the previously cited assumption.
No formally adequate standards or practices for searching previous literature and findings exist with the rare exception of the searches conducted within the patent system. And no formal systems exist either for evaluating this part of publications or proposals when it comes to evaluation either by article reviewers or project evaluators. What exists is a rather haphazard web of conventions and practices that bear no resemblance to the systematic professionalism implicitly assumed. Ans normally very little resources are provided for this part of the evaluation process or frequently none at all. Experience as cited in this report confirms this obvious fact as regards the haphazard searching and reporting of previous findings.