7. Our guidelines
• >30 citations
• Widely used
• Inspired other publishers to act 2007
http://bit.ly/azBf78
Graf C, Wager E, Bowman A et al. Int J Clin Pract 2007;61(s152):1–26.
doi:10.1111/j.1742-1241.2006.01230.x
10. Unethical research Unethical editorial decisions
Plagiarism
Authorship
Fabrication, falsification
11. 2008
2009
Our ethics survey
• “Most editors … seem not very
concerned about publication ethics“
• We were surprised
http://bit.ly/c8p6N7
Wager E, Fiack S, Graf C et al. J Med Ethics 2009;35:348-353.
doi:10.1136/jme.2008.028324
12. Our ethics audit
• Step 1
• Worked with editors
2009
• Harvested information 2010
about their approach
to ethics
http://bit.ly/abFfDS
The COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) audit tool
15. Detail from guidelines
• Our guidelines were written to offer:
– Practical advice
– Best practice statements
– Links to “gold standards”
http://wwwjp.blackwellpublishing.com/bw/publicationethics/
16. Key ethical consideration #1
• Transparency
– Who funded the work?
– Who did the work?
(Authorship in detail)
– Has the work been published before?
17. Authorship in detail
• Authors should meet 1, 2, and 3*:
– 1) substantial contributions to conception
and design, or acquisition of data, or
analysis and interpretation of data; and
– 2) drafting the article or revising it critically
for important intellectual content; and
– 3) final approval of the version to be
published
*International Committee of Medical Journal of Editors http://www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.html
18. Authorship in detail
• For people who made a contribution but
who don’t meet 1 + 2 + 3?
– List names and describe contributions
– As an “Acknowledgement”
19. Key ethical consideration #2
• Research integrity
– Research misconduct
– Rights of research participants
(eg Informed consent, Privacy)
– Respecting cultures and heritage
– Informing readers about problems
(In detail)
20. Inform readers about problems
• Correction (erratum) for errors in data
or information, whatever the cause
• “Retraction” if work is proven* fraud
– Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism
– Publish a statement of retraction, not
remove article
– *Proven usually by authors’ employer or
governing body
21. Key ethical consideration #3
• Editorial standards and processes
– Peer review
– Appeals
– Conflicts of interest
(Editors, authors, peer reviewers)
– Editorial independence
– Accuracy and debate
22. Conflicts of interest
• Editors, authors, peer reviewers
• Disclose interests that might appear
to affect objectivity
• Financial (eg patent ownership, stock
ownership, consultancies, speaker's
fees), personal, political, intellectual,
religious