Detecting Fraud in Scientific Data Using Benford's Law

This article provides a clear and accessible overview of how Benford's Law—a statistical principle describing the non-uniform distribution of leading digits in naturally occurring datasets—can be applied to detect potential fraud in scientific research. After introducing the historical origins of the law through the work of Simon Newcomb and Frank Benford, the paper explains the underlying mathematical formula, its scope of applicability, and the reasons why certain datasets conform to the ...