How are you coping with lockdown during this pandemic? Like many people, I have had good days and bad days. Compared to many others, I have been lucky. I am well, I still have a job and I have a comfortable place to spend the lockdown.Recently, during a Zoom catch-up, I asked some of my colleagues –
Imagine you are a young, keen PhD student. Deep in the research for your thesis, you decide to take a break by browsing the latest news in your field. That’s when you spot a story on article topic similar to your own research: the paper has been retracted by the journal due to scientific misconduct.
Patents have two purposes: awarding rights to the inventor and preventing others from claiming ownership. In research, patents encourage innovation by ensuring that work focuses on new ideas. Patent searching can help researchers to avoid wasting valuable time and money on unoriginal work. This is v
Recently I walked past my colleague’s office and noticed he was laughing. I asked him what was so funny.“I am reading about an authorship story of ‘Stronzo Bestiale’,” he chuckled. “Apparently, a US physicist (William Hoover) was struggling to publish his research in the 1980s. He overheard two Ital
You can also listen to this article as an audio recording. “Do you have a conflict of interest?” is a question most researchers are used to answering. In science, all good journals ask authors to declare any conflict of interest. Basically, a conflict of interest is any situation where a person hold
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world, it is shadowed by another “disease”: misinformation. Fuelled by both traditional and social media, misinformation presents a new kind of threat. The COVID-19 pandemic is the first since the rise of social media, meaning that misinformation can sprea
Research, reproducibility and reliability. These three words are key when it comes to good science. As scientists, we strive to prove that our results are significantly different. My colleague often wished for a “Journal of Negative Results”, one which published the experiments that didn’t work. Thi
In academia, your reputation as a scientist depends on the quality and quantity of your publications as well as the number of citations. Citations give recognition to the scientist who discovered a finding and was the first to publish it. Therefore, the number of researchers who cite your work in th
The recent coronavirus outbreak has made headlines across the globe, with millions under quarantine in China and fears spreading as the death toll rises. The virus, which originated in a live animal market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, has infected a total of 66,000 with 1,523 deaths as of Februa
You can also listen to this article as an audio recording. Academic integrity is a serious issue in the research community. It ensures that the scientists remain dedicated to producing original research and ideas that lead to scientific breakthroughs. Therefore, they need to be diligent in keeping s
Yes, you understood correctly…a lottery system to award grant funding to academic researchers. Any academic researcher is aware of the competitive nature of grant funding. However, traditionally one was awarded grant funding after proving that you are a reputable scientist and the best candidate for
That sinking feeling in your stomach when you realize the cell lines you have been working on were not the ones you thought. You discovered there was a labeling error. The conclusions of your experiments, which you published in a paper, are incorrect. You realize the ramifications: you have unintent
Most researchers would say that plagiarism is never acceptable. They would probably also agree that some types of plagiarism are more serious than others. For example, complete plagiarism is where someone takes a project or paper created by someone else and presents it as their own. This is consider
You can also listen to this article as an audio recording. Scientific misconduct is a common topic of debate in the academic world. Scientific publications are often the target. Plagiarism, ghost writing or problems with the peer review process are all problems that highlight the clash between resea
Peer review is the heart of the academic publishing industry and is extremely important to maintain the excellency of the published scholarly literature. However, with the rapid rise in the number of cases reported for ethical violations due to pressure to publish, predatory journals, fake peer revi
The work that scientists do is vital in many ways. It helps society progress in the fields of medicine, climate change, physics, and beyond. Unfortunately, scientific misconduct is on the rise. So, the issues of scientific fraud and data fabrication need serious consideration. To prevent a negative
You can also listen to this article as an audio recording. Research in China has grown exponentially over the past two decades. The USD 9.1 billion investment that China made available for R&D in 1991 is paying off. This is evident by the massive increase in scientific publications produced by China
Research misconduct describes a wide variety of immoral behaviors, including corrupt or unethical research methods, denying or claiming unfair authorship, plagiarism, data falsification and fabrication, and fraud. This article features a conversation between researchers who discuss what misconduct l
You can also listen to this article as an audio recording. Every researcher hopes that their work is essential, innovative, and perhaps most importantly, unique. After all, repeating work that others have already done is a waste of valuable time and resources. This is particularly true if you are
Authorship of research papers is a critical factor that is considered while assessing a researchers work. It also has a significant impact on a researchers career growth. Authorship therefore needs to be assigned wisely. In this episode of Enago Academy’s podcast, we will discuss considerations and
Avril works her way through graduate schoolby working hard to complete courses, carry out research, and eventually earn her PhD. Consequently, she also earns an academic position at a leading university. After a few years as a faculty member, she decides to start a family. This ends up being her int
In academic journals, there have been several ethical issues with respect to authorship. This is notably the case with articles having multiple authors. For example, a study done by the International Journal of Nanomedicine showed that 33% of authors admitted including scholars in their study who di
As a researcher, you constantly read the literature in your field to keep up with developments. But, how can you be sure that the authors have been transparent in their research methods and analysis of their data? Can you trust their findings? We do have a few people taking care of the scientific tr
Research involves performing tests on animal subjects and sometimes even on human subjects. However, there are times researchers do not follow the ethical practices associated with the human subjects. This includes the extent of information related to the research that is disclosed to the human subj