Scientific research requires selection of accurate research methodology to generate evidence based findings. In a study conducted by Puri et al. (2020) titled “The balancing act: Maintaining leopard–wild prey equilibrium could offer economic benefits to people in a shared forest landscape of central India” the authors have reported occupancy estimate of common leopard without incorporating false positive detections. Such results can be highly inaccurate with an error rate of 50–80%. The authors also identified common leopard scats based on morphological attributes through field surveys which have often been critiqued to be erroneous. Morphological compared with molecular identification of leopard scats can have potential error rates which might range between (7–100%) leading to flawed assessment of leopard diet and implications for conserving large carnivores within human-dominated landscapes of South Asia. Evidence based research provides solutions to adopt strategies and aids conservation of endangered wildlife. Results based on inaccurate methods can mislead decision makers and further exaggerate conclusions drawn. Human-leopard conflicts are a major conservation challenge with implications for human wellbeing, livelihoods and large carnivore coexistence within shared landscapes of South Asia. Studies focused on understanding such human-predator interactions should adhere to correct documentation of facts rather than exaggerating falsified information. We further recommend that research based on proper scientific methods be adopted while providing information on large carnivores within human-dominated landscapes.

科学研究需要选择准确的研究方法，以产生基于证据的发现。在Puri等人进行的一项研究中。（2020）题为“平衡行为：维持豹子-野生猎物的平衡可以为印度中部共同森林景观中的人们提供经济利益”，作者报告了普通豹子的占用估计，没有纳入错误的阳性检测结果。这样的结果可能非常不准确，错误率达50–80％。作者还通过经常被批评为错误的野外调查，根据形态学特征确定了普通豹子粪便。与分子鉴定相比，从形态上讲，豹子的潜在错误率可能在（7-100％）之间，从而导致对豹子饮食的评估有缺陷，并可能对在以人为主导的南亚地区保存大型食肉动物产生影响。基于证据的研究提供了采取策略并帮助保护濒危野生动植物的解决方案。基于不正确方法的结果可能会误导决策者并进一步夸大得出的结论。人与豹之间的冲突是一项重大的保护挑战，对人类的福祉，生计和大型食肉动物在南亚共同景观中的共存产生了影响。着重于了解这种人类与食肉动物之间相互作用的研究应坚持对事实的正确记录，而不是夸大虚假的信息。