Editing Goodhart's law (section)

== Examples ==

* The [[San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment]] denounces several problems in science and as Goodhart's law explains, one of them is that measurement has become a target. The correlation between [[h-index]] and scientific awards is decreasing since widespread usage of h-index.<ref name='h-frac'>{{cite journal |last1=Koltun |first1=V |last2=Hafner |first2=D |title=The h-index is no longer an effective correlate of scientific reputation. |journal=PLOS ONE |date=2021 |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=e0253397 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0253397 |pmid=34181681 |pmc=8238192 |arxiv=2102.03234 |bibcode=2021PLoSO..1653397K |quote=Our results suggest that the use of the h-index in ranking scientists should be reconsidered, and that fractional allocation measures such as h-frac provide more robust alternatives. |doi-access=free }} [https://h-frac.org Companion webpage]</ref>
* The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]]'s (IUCN) measure of [[extinction]] can be used to remove [[environmental protection]]s, which resulted in IUCN becoming more conservative in labeling something as extinct.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mooers |first=Arne |date=2022-05-23 |title=When is a species really extinct? |url=http://theconversation.com/when-is-a-species-really-extinct-182555 |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=T. E. |last2=Bennett |first2=G. C. |last3=Fairbairn |first3=A. |last4=Mooers |first4=A. O. |date=March 2023 |title='Lost' taxa and their conservation implications |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acv.12788 |journal=Animal Conservation |language=en |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=14–24 |doi=10.1111/acv.12788 |bibcode=2023AnCon..26...14M |s2cid=248846699 |issn=1367-9430}}</ref>
* In [[healthcare]], the misapplication of metrics can lead to adverse outcomes. For instance, hospitals striving to reduce length of stay (LOS) may inadvertently discharge patients prematurely, leading to increased emergency readmissions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Babar |first=Sultan M. |date=2023-11-08 |title=The Cobra Effect in Healthcare: Goodhart's Law and the Pitfalls of Misguided Metrics |url=https://sultan.babar.me/blog/cobra_effect_in_healthcare.html |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Moving Medicine Forward|type=blog}}</ref>{{sps|certain=y|date=December 2024}}
* According to Tom and David Chivers in ''[[How to Read Numbers]]'', the law applied to the [[British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic]] when it announced a target of 100,000 COVID-19 tests per day—initially a target for tests actually carried out and later for maximum capacity of test-taking. The number of useful diagnostic tests was far lower than the government-reported number when it announced it had met the target.<ref>{{cite book|title=[[How to Read Numbers]]|publisher=[[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]]|year=2021|last1=Chivers|first1=Tom|last2=Chivers|first2=David|isbn=9781474619974|chapter=22: Goodhart's Law}}</ref>
* In the [[HBO]] television series ''[[The Wire]]'', Roland 'Prezbo' Pryzbylewski draws parallels between public school policy of [[teaching to the test]] and improving crime statistics through reclassification of those crimes as "juking the stats". He notes that they both are examples of strategies that are ineffective at substantive improvements in learning and public safety respectively because they cater to ineffective metrics of standardized test scores and reported crime rates.<ref>{{cite web |first=Roshan |last=Revanka |title=Juking the Stats |url=https://medium.com/@roshanrevankar/juking-the-stats-5926eaf5464|website=[[Medium (website)|Medium]]|date=January 20, 2016 |access-date=August 14, 2024}}</ref>{{sps|certain=y|date=December 2024}}