The news includes articles on compliance with data sharing statements, whether retractions affect public perception of the poor science, a game which encourages researchers to think about research integrity issues, and more. The news is gathered by COPE Council members.
Retractions
Retraction does not reduce attention to problematic research papers, according to a new study in PNAS which found that by the time a paper is retracted, public attention is already diminished.
Data and reproducibility
A study has found that many researchers do not comply with their published data sharing statement.
Peer review
A litany of listed problems with peer review and scholarly publication in legacy journals prompts one scientist to withdraw from the process (except to continue publishing in those same journals) while working to change the system.
The theme for Peer Review Week 2022 (Sept 19-23, 2022) is Research Integrity: Creating and Supporting Trust in Research
Research integrity
Dilemma Games, an app that makes a game out of resolving research-integrity dilemmas, aims to get researchers talking about research integrity issues.
The African Research Integrity Network was formally launched at WCRI 2022.
The journal Cureus, has admitted that it's new "name and shame" feature launched to “highlight authors who have committed egregious ethical violations as well as the institutions that enabled them”, could cause damage to the careers of researchers named.
Ph.D. recipients in France will soon have to take an integrity oath on the day they successfully defend their thesis. Some see it as a symbolic step in the right direction that might inspire change elsewhere.
Dr. Matthew Schrag of Vanderbilt University notes that "You can’t cheat to cure a disease. Biology doesn’t care." He is a whistleblower regarding image manipulation concerns for sentinel papers in the study of Alzheimer's disease.
"Everyone involved in research has a role to play in research integrity and no single stakeholder can maintain or raise standards alone" is introduction to discussion paper of panel presentation at World Congress on Research Integrity, 2022 which discusses roles of different stakeholder groups.
Diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility
Learned Publishing has issued a call for papers for a special issue on implementing DEIA initiatives.
Nature has published an editorial, the first in its history to be signed by guest editors, to launch to the creation of a series of special issues dedicated to racism in science.
Preprints
As preprints gain traction, various strategies to review, curate and share them across the scientific community are being developed, including crowdsourced review after posting, use of artificial intelligence strategies and curation platforms.
Authorship
#pleasedontstealmywork campaign in Denmark headed by PhD candidate highlights structural problems in national research hierarchy.
Paper mills
US House Science, Space, Technology Committee met to discuss research integrity issues, including panel with Chris Graf, Jennifer Byrne, Brendan Steele.
Page history
Page last updated: 26 August 2022