Many instances of plagiarism have been detected in journal publications recently. Thus, I would like to know how we can ensure ethical conduct among researchers given the current explosion in publications.
Software can be used to detect plagiarism, but, of course, it would be better if researchers would feel motivated to behave honestly because they feel this is right not because they are afraid that can get caught for being dishonest.
Nowadays, its not only authors who misbehave but also Publishers of some Open Access Journals whose sole aim seems to be profit. Papers are being published without any credible peer review as long as the authors can afford to pay the publication charges. Do read the recent study published in Science 342: 65 (4/10/13) entitled "Who is afraid of peer review." available at www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6154/60.full
Hi Prof Tan, it is tough - as Plato said "Good people do not need laws to tell them act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws". Anyhow i think there are many things we can do. Training to instill honesty and ethics awareness in research trainees, or include the code in induction program could be one way. In addition to plagiarism-prevention service like Turnitin, there are also cyber watchdogs to dig out unethical conduts. retractwatch is one of them. http://retractionwatch.com/
We are dealing with highest work and also with the highest qualified people, therefore, we have no need to be worry so much. However, there are nowadays, different ways to detect misbehave and plagiarism such as software available and ethic committees. The editorial board of the journal and referee have to be sure about the acceptance of work to be published.
It is not only plagiarism that blights research there are other forms of dishonesty and negligence and it is not always picked up by peer review. I have read plenty of papers that went through peer review that are seriously flawed in the methodology they describe and the conclusions they reach.
The most common defect I come across, and it is all too common is the omission of confounding variables. This practice is either employed deliberately to make a conclusion 'fit' the hypothesis or because the researcher has been less than thorough and has missed them.
Peer review also does not eliminate bias. Whether a paper is accepted largely depends on the reviewers sharing the views of the author. Double blinding the process is no safeguard and this is one of the problems with 'consensus science'
I agree with Linus, naming and shaming those who commit scientific misconduct might be a good method of ensuring ethical conduct among authors.
Research misconduct contaminates the scientific literature and this can have a major impact on people's health , on their wealth and on their environment,for those reasons, it should be criminalized.
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