Zubin Master MedicReS World Congress 2014

10/29/2014
Copyright: Zubin Master, 2014 1
Current Issues in Publication
Ethics
Zubin Master, PhD
MedicReS Congress on Good
Medical Research, NY, NY
October 16, 2014
1
2
Outline
• Ethics of Scientific & Medical Research
• Retractions & Misconduct
• Undeserving Authorship
• Salami Slicing
• Redundant Publication
• Plagiarism
© Zubin Master, 2014

10/29/2014
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Illustration by David Zinn in ORI Intro to RCR (2007)
What is Good
Medical
Research?
(a.k.a. scientific/research integrity;
Responsible Conduct of Research)
4
Outlines the scientific norms,
responsibilities, and practices for
scientists and scientific organizations
INTEGRITY
Authorship
Publication Ethics
Mentoring
Data
Mgmt
COI

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Autonomy of Science
• Scientists relinquish intellectual property
rights for professional recognition
Mertonian Norms of Science (1973)
Robert K. Merton (1910-2003)
• Scientific truths are universal and free from
personal criteria i.e., biases associated with
race, social status, gender & religion
• Scientists are disinterested in the outcomes of their
science and behave unselfishly
But these are Sociological Thoughts of the Past
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Incongruity of Scientific Norms
Norm
Counternorm

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Range of Ethical Violations in Research
Clearly
Ethical
Clearly
Unethical
Ethically Ambiguous
Adapted from David
Resnik, 2010 Lecture
• Selectively reporting
data
• Undeserving
authorship
• IP disputes
• Minor violations of
research
requirements
• FFP
• Theft
• Sabotage
• Harassment
• Violation of major
research
requirements i.e.,
breaking law
• Full & honest
reporting of results
• Respecting
colleagues and
subordinates
• Compliance with
research regulations
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Ethical Principles of Science
Honesty Openness
FreedomCarefulness
Education
Credit
Social
Responsibility
Legality
Opportunity
Mutual
Respect
Efficiency
Respect for
Subjects
Accountability

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10
Questionable Publication Practices
• means splitting data sets and publishing as separate articles resulting in a
greater number of publication
OR
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Graph 1
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Graph 2
Big
Time
Journal
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Graph 1
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Graph 1
Less
Data
Journal
Less
Data
Journal
+
Salami Slicing or Minimal Publishable Unit:
• Journals encourage such practices by publishing “rapid communication” or
“preliminary result” sections
• Fragmented publications make it more difficult to evaluate the significance of
the results
• Reviewing multiple publications could impose more stress on the peer
review process and uses more resources
Is it ethical to publish less data?

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Duplicate or Redundant Publication
• A significant amount of the content or
the entire content is republished without
acknowledging the original publication
• Deceptive behaviour
• Can distort research record because greater weight is put during
meta-analysis
• Wastes time and resources (i.e., peer review)
• May infringe on copyright laws
Ethical Republication:
 When publishing in another language
 When publishing to a diverse audience
 When publishing in an anthology
12
Steen RG. J Med Ethics, 2011
Retractions & Misconduct

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Fang et al. 2012, PNAS
Reasons for Retracted Articles
Plagiarism
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• If someone uses ideas, results, pictures, words, data
without giving credit = plagiarism
• Plagiarism is connected with proper citation and
publication practices
• Researchers fail to acknowledge, cite, disclose, or obtain
permission to use their own previous published work or cite
themselves
• This could infringe on copyrights
Self-Plagiarism

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Plagiarism
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• Researcher fails to cite important work in the field when
reviewing or discussing findings from others
Citation Amnesia
• Citation is just as important as authorship
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Authorship Ethics

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Why is Authorship So Important?
• Authorship credit is a researcher’s currency to rewards in
academia
• The quality and quantity of publications and citation are
important
 graduate degree
 obtaining a job
 tenure and promotion
 grants and contracts
• Publications may be necessary for:
 awards and prizes
 speaking opportunities
 providing expert testimony
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Authorship Practices
What is an author?
Authors were originally the persons
who wrote the book, article, poem, etc.
In research, authors contribute to
different parts of the research

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• The number of authors in publications has been rising due
to “Big Science”
• Multiple authorship is becoming the norm in many areas
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2004
Karen A Hunt, Deborah J Smyth, Tobias Balschun, Maria Ban, Vanisha
Mistry, Tariq Ahmad, Vidya Anand, Jeffrey C Barrett, Leena Bhaw-
Rosun, Nicholas A Bockett, Oliver J Brand, Elisabeth Brouwer, Patrick
Concannon, Jason D Cooper, Kerith-Rae M Dias, Cleo C van Diemen,
Patrick C Dubois, Sarah Edkins, Regina Fölster-Holst, Karin Fransen,
David N Glass, Graham A R Heap, Sylvia Hofmann, Tom W J Huizinga,
Sarah Hunt, Cordelia Langford, James Lee, John Mansfield, Maria
Giovanna Marrosu, Christopher G Mathew, Charles A Mein, Joachim
Müller-Quernheim, Sarah Nutland, Suna Onengut-Gumuscu, Willem
Ouwehand, Kerra Pearce, Natalie J Prescott, Marcel D Posthumus,
Simon Potter, Giulio Rosati, Jennifer Sambrook, Jack Satsangi, Stefan
Schreiber, Corina Shtir, Matthew J Simmonds, Marc Sudman, Susan
D Thompson, Rene Toes, Gosia Trynka, Timothy J Vyse, Neil M
Walker, Stephan Weidinger, Alexandra Zhernakova, Magdalena
Zoledziewska, Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium , UK
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Genetics Consortium , Wellcome
Trust Case Control Consortium , Rinse K Weersma, Stephen C L
Gough, Stephen Sawcer, Cisca Wijmenga, Miles Parkes, Francesco
Cucca, Andre Franke, Panos Deloukas, Stephen S Rich, John A Todd &
David A van Heel
2012
Multi-Authored Articles Become the Norm in
Certain Fields © Zubin Master, 2014

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Trends in Multi-Authored Papers
Trend due to large,
multi-centre clinical
trials
• Average number of authors in 1960 = 1.7
1990 = 3.1
Drenth, 1996 Sci&Eng Ethics
• In 1994, 37 papers in the life sciences had 3
digit authorship compared to none in most of the
1980s (Regalado, 1995 Science)
• Authorship practices vary between disciplines
E.g., papers in physics can have 50-500
authors, genomics ~50 or more authors,
biomedical less, philosophy single author
• Multi-authored papers are rising in all disciplines and
interdisciplinary fields including social science, political science,
economics, bioethics, business
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Unethical Authorship (I)
• Individuals are made authors as a professional
courtesy or personal favour
• Some individuals have developed arrangements
where authorship is reciprocated e.g., one researcher
Gift Authorship
takes first author position and the other takes a secondary recognized
position and they switch the next time (aka reciprocal authorship)
• Individual are made authors as a sign of
respect e.g., thesis committee advisors or
laboratory directors
Honourary Authorship

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Unethical Authorship (II)
• Given to someone with a high degree of
prestige so the manuscript can be accepted for
publication or go into a higher impact journal
Prestige Authorship
• Pharmaceutical companies recruit
and pay researchers who were not
involved in the research to write a
manuscript to give it authenticity and
credibility
• This is deceptive behaviour
Ghost Authorship
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International Guidance

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The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4
criteria:
1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or
the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual
content; AND
3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring
that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the
work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
ICMJE 2013 Guidelines
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ICMJE 2013 Guidelines
ICMJE recommendations may seem
onerous, but their goal is to have
researchers involved in the entire
process of research – from
conception to publication

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Acquisition of funding, collection of
data, administrative support, editing,
general commentary, or supervision of
the research group alone does not
constitute authorship (ICMJE)
Acknowledgement Section
• While there are some clear
violations in authorship and
publication ethics, some practices
remain ethically ambiguous
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• Authorship should be given
when deserved, and authors are
accountable for the research

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Acknowledgements
• Various artists for images found on the web
• Thank you for the invitation
• Dr. David B. Resnik
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zubin@zubsplace.com

Zubin Master MedicReS World Congress 2014

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