Ethics in Scientific Publishing

This blog comprises more points from How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 9th edition (2022). This time we present the points from Chapter 5, “Ethics in Scientific Publishing".

In early editions of this book, a chapter titled “Ethics, Rights, and Permissions” appeared near the end. Starting with the 6th edition (2006), a chapter on ethics has come early in the book; a chapter on rights and permissions appears later. 

Ethical conduct is the foundation of valid science and valid publication.

Why is the content on ethics now included earlier and more extensive? Because ethical conduct is the foundation of valid science and valid publication. If scientists do not act ethically in their research and writing, their papers lack integrity and may be worse than worthless. 

Now, three points from this chapter: 

(1) Changing an occasional word in a passage does not suffice to avoid plagiarism. Rather, the material should be thoroughly paraphrased. One way to help ensure that the text reflects your own words is to draft it without looking at the source material. (Of course, after drafting the text, compare it with the source material to make sure the content is accurate.)

(2) In quantitative research, respect for the truth—and thus for ethical conduct—requires using suitable statistical procedures. Otherwise, the findings might be distorted. If you lack sufficient statistical knowledge yourself, enlist someone with the needed expertise. Do so early, while the research is being planned. Otherwise, the research may be incapable of succeeding, and thus ethical problems may include wasting resources and time.  

(3) Good sources of further guidance include On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research (https://lnkd.in/gsmKzK84) and Doing Global Science: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in the Global Research Enterprise (https://lnkd.in/gNV5j88b). Both books are openly accessible and easy to read. 

Looking forward to providing some points from other chapters next time!

Barbara Gastel, MD, is professor of integrative biosciences and medical humanities at Texas A&M University, College Station, USA, where she coordinates the graduate program in science communication.

This series of posts originally appeared on Professor Barbara Gastel's LinkedIn page.

How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, by Barbara Gastel and Robert A. Day, is available in paperback, hardback and Kindle format.