Martyn Rittman, Ph.D. Basel, 16 April 2014 Ethics and Peer Review

Ethics and Peer Review An introduction to peer review Ethical problems around peer review and publishing Case studies 2

Peer Review Thefirstprincipleisthatyou mustnotfoolyourselfandyou aretheeasiestpersontofool. RichardFeynman 3

Peer Review 4 Verify accuracy Check novelty Establish authorship Make research available Objective assessment

Peer Review Theauthorasksathirdpartytoverifythequalityof theirwork,usuallyapublisher. 5 Submission

Peer Review Theauthorasksathirdpartytoverifythequalityof theirwork,usuallyapublisher. Thepublisherdoesaninternalcheck,possiblywith theassistanceofanexternaleditor. 6 Submission Precheck

Peer Review Theauthorasksathirdpartytoverifythequalityof theirwork,usuallyapublisher. Thepublisherdoesaninternalcheck,possiblywith theassistanceofanexternaleditor. Thepublishersendsthepapertoacknowledged expertsinthefieldwhocommentonthepaper. 7 Submission Precheck Peerreview

Peer Review Theauthorasksathirdpartytoverifythequalityof theirwork,usuallyapublisher. Thepublisherdoesaninternalcheck,possiblywith theassistanceofanexternaleditor. Thepublishersendsthepapertoacknowledged expertsinthefieldwhocommentonthepaper. Themanuscriptgoesbacktotheauthorsto implementthecomments. 8 Submission Precheck Peerreview Revision

Peer Review Theauthorasksathirdpartytoverifythequalityof theirwork,usuallyapublisher. Thepublisherdoesaninternalcheck,possiblywith theassistanceofanexternaleditor. Thepublishersendsthepapertoacknowledged expertsinthefieldwhocommentonthepaper. Themanuscriptgoesbacktotheauthorsto implementthecomments. Anexpertaffiliatedwiththepublisherdecides whetherthepaperissuitabletopublish. 9 Submission Precheck Peerreview Revision Finaldecision

Ethics Ethicscategories: Authorship Data Editorial oversight 10 Establish ownership Novel and accurate Objectivity

Authorship How do you cheat as an author on a paper? 11

Data Honorary authorship False authors Submit in someone elses name Salami slicing Miss off a major contributor Plagiarism (copy someone elses work) Self-plagiarism (copy your own previously published work) 12

Data How many ways can you act unethically with data? 13

Data Make up the data Steal someone elses data (without citation) Republish old data Unethical use of subjects No informed consent Coercion (force someone to take part) 14

Editorial Oversight How can: Authors Editors Peer reviewers cheat the peer review system? 15

Editorial Oversight Authors: Peer review your own paper Resubmit an old paper Get your mates to accept/review the paper (CoIs) Editors: Skip peer review Ignore peer review recommendations Ignore complaints about potential unethical behaviour 16

Editorial Oversight Peer reviewers: Not look at the paper properly Stall the process Steal ideas in the paper and publish them later Send the paper to someone else Lie in their peer review Not disclose conflicts of interest 17

What Can an Editor do? Investigate: Get a second opinion Refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics Contact authors university/funding body/ ethics committee 18 Publish (or not): Reject Correct Expression of concern Retract

Case Studies In groups of five: Choose two case studies Read, discuss and prepare conclusions 19