Research misconduct: Know it to avoid it

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K. Lecturer Introduction Mary Nishikawa Board Certified Editor Trainer, Academia Over 25 years of experience

1 Research misconduct: Know it to avoid it Presented by: Mary Nishikawa, MA, ELS Editor and Trainer, Academia Cactus Communications K.K. Lecturer Introduction Mary Nishikawa Board Certified Editor Trainer, Academia Over 25 years of experience in the review, editing, and rewriting of biomedical research reports Understanding the concerns researchers and academics have and helping them publish in top SCI journals such as Science and Cell 2 1

2 DISCLAIMER The contents of which you are about to hear on research misconduct, is only provided for illustrative purposes, and is by no means, an all-inclusive treatment of the subject The trainer or the company of which she represents assumes no responsibility in providing complete coverage; interpretations should be assumed to be of a personal nature and not an official statement of rules and regulations, unless explicitly quoted from official guidelines Please refer to official guidelines described herein for a more inclusive treatment on the subject 3 OBJECTIVE This workshop is intended to help create a work environment in which you can discuss ethical issues in research and publishing, whenever you need to 4 2

3 You will learn Specifically, Basic concepts and definitions How to keep research misconduct in check About recent troubles (paper retractions) How misconduct is detected 5 Have you ever come across bad behavior? 6 3

If you have, you are not alone Hofmann et al. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14:3. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/14/3 Photo credit: US Army (Flickr) 7 Questions to ask 1.

4 If you have, you are not alone Hofmann et al. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14:3. Photo credit: US Army (Flickr) 7 Questions to ask 1. What is research misconduct? 2. What are questionable research practices? 3. What are some recent troubles? 4. How can we keep research misconduct in check? 5. How do the ORI and journals detect research misconduct? 8 4

5 1. What is research misconduct? 9 The US Office of Science and Technology Policy Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy. On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research. Third Edition. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.;

6 11 What is fabrication? Word origin fabricatus (Latin) To make, construct or build Fabrication is Making up data or results. Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy. On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research. Third Edition. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.;

7 Fabricating survey responses of a non-existent person You ve got many great responses. Oh yes, what I really needed. If he only knew 13 What is falsification? Word origin Falsus (Latin) To deceive, to pretend Falsification is Manipulating of research materials, equipment or processes, or changing or omitting data or results that research is not accurately represented in the research record. Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy. On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research. Third Edition. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.;

Falsifying an image What a great image of cells! It only took an hour! Photoshop Works wonders! 15 Dot removed, particles enhanced http://www.nih.

8 Falsifying an image What a great image of cells! It only took an hour! Photoshop Works wonders! 15 Dot removed, particles enhanced The NIH Catalyst. Rossner M and Yamada K. WHAT'S IN A PICTURE? THE TEMPTATION OF IMAGE MANIPULATION VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3, MAY JUNE

9 Word origin What is plagiarism? plaga (Latin), snare, hunting net; plagiare (Latin) to kidnap; Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person s ideas, processes, results or words without giving appropriate credit. Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy. On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research. Third Edition. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.; Plagiarism You writing skills have really improved! Thanks to you! Thanks to Dr. Smith s report! 18 9

10 Potential plagiarism in Methods Reusing one s own words from an earlier paper 19 Reusing one s own methods Plagiarism troubles! The procedure for harvesting cells was as follows: 1., 2, 3. Description published in Elsevier journal (copyright holder) The procedure for harvesting cells was as follows: 1., 2, 3. Submission to Wiley- Blackwell journal 20 10

Para (altered) phrase (way of speaking or writing You do not use the

11 Paraphrase your own words from a previously published report 21 What s a paraphrase? Para (altered) phrase (way of speaking or writing You do not use the same sentence structure You may use some of the same words, but not others You can make the sentence simpler or more complex 22 11

12 Original The procedure for harvesting cells was as follows: 1., 2, 3. Description published in Elsevier journal (copyright holder) Paraphrased We followed the procedure for harvesting cells as described earlier. (1) In summary, the steps involved a., b, and c. Submission to Wiley-Blackwell journal 23 Redundant (or duplicate) publication (Self-plagiarism or text recycling ) should generally be avoided Possible exceptions Descriptions of study methods or data sources Check the copyright; if it was transferred to the publisher, get permission If you do use it, you will need to identify the original source and mention that it is a duplicate Battisti WP et al. Good Publication Practice for Communicating Company-Sponsored Medical Research: GPP3. Ann Intern Med. doi: /m

13 Plagiarism in Methods Reusing published methods of other research groups 25 Original The study was a quasiexperimental design, where classrooms, rather than students, were randomly assigned to conditions. Sage Open April-June 2012: 1-9 Mott SM et al DOI: / Let s use this sentence in our paper. I have no idea how to reword this. What s the problem? 26 13

14 Paraphrase and cite 27 Avoid plagiarizing the methods of others! Original The study was a quasiexperimental design, where classrooms, rather than students, were randomly assigned to conditions. Sage Open April-June 2012: 1-9 Mott SM et al DOI: / Paraphrased We followed the study design of Mott et al. (2012), in which we randomized classrooms in blocks but did not randomize students, individually

15 When you have trouble paraphrasing use "Methods have been described in detail elsewhere. 1 " and cite earlier paper. 29 Avoid plagiarism! 15

16 Remember What are questionable research practices? 32 16

17 s 33 What are some QRPs? Omitting outliers Inappropriate research design or test statistic Conflict of interest Questionable authorship Custers R. Research misconduct The grey area of Questionable Research Practices. 30 Sep

18 Leaving out anomalous results (outliers) What was the purpose? Deleting an entire data set Removing an outlier Was the purpose to manipulate the data and misrepresent the research? 35 But it was only one data point! Hofmann et al. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14:3. Photo credit: US Army (Flickr) 36 18

19 Questionable research design or test statistic What was the purpose? Selecting a design or statistical test that might not have been appropriate for the study Was the purpose to manipulate the data and misrepresent the research? 37 But I wasn t getting statistical significance! Hofmann et al. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14:3. Photo credit: US Army (Flickr) 38 19

20 Conflict of interest (disclosures) NOTHING TO DECLARE 39 Potential Conflicts of Interest (COI) A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patients' welfare or the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain). Perceptions of conflict of interest are as important as actual conflicts of interest. ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal editors)

21 Items to disclose: Financial (ICMJE) Employment Consultancies Stock ownership or options Honoraria Patents Paid expert testimony 41 Items to disclose: Nonfinancial (ICMJE) However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships or rivalries, academic competition, and intellectual beliefs

22 Authorship issues Gift authors Ghost authors Ordering of names Photo credit: US Army (Flickr) 43 Authorship Who is an author? Who is not an author? Once we have decided who should be included, how do we order the names? Art credit: Ngoc Ha (Flickr) 44 22

23 Who is an author? (ICMJE criteria) The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND Final approval of the version to be published; AND Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved Who is not an author? (GPP3 criteria) 1 Authorship should not be a gift or reward for service Work that does not qualify for authorship Subject enrollment data acquisition technical assistance funding acquisition Supervision of research Heading of department conducting the research 1 Ann Intern Med. doi: /m

24 Ordering of names Hofmann et al. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14:3. Photo credit: US Army (Flickr) 47 Suggestion for ordering of authors (GPP3) 1 Authors are listed in order of lead and second author, based on their contributions With subsequent authors listed in alphabetical order Remember, authors must meet ICMJE criteria for authorship 1 Ann Intern Med. doi: /m

25 Remember s Your reputation may depend on them! What are some recent troubles? 50 25

26 Data irregularities Fabrication and Falsification The paper described the directed conversion of skin fibroblasts from unaffected individuals or familiar Alzheimer s disease patients into human induced neuronal cells. Dr. Ryousuke Fujita has acknowledged inappropriately manipulating image panels and data points, as well as misrepresenting the number of repeats performed

27 Cell Paper retracted in 2015 Ryousuke Fujita Survey data unavailable, statistical irregularities Science with the concurrence of author Donald P. Green is retracting the 12 December 2014 report When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support for gay equality by LaCour and Green. Independent researchers noticed statistical irregularities LaCour has not produced the original survey data from which someone else could independently confirm the validity of the reported findings

28 Science paper retracted in Peer review and authorship misconduct 28

29 Manipulated peer reviews It was reported that Khalid Zahman recommended fake reviewers Reviewers were unusually kind Article was accepted based on the faked reviewer report 57 Elsevier retracts 16 papers! Renewable Energy Economic modeling Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 58 29

30 Peer review and authorship misconduct It was reported that Peter Chen manipulated ScholarOne online submission system Recommended fake reviewers Reviewed own paper Added a distinguished author without the author s permission 59 Sage retracts 60 papers! Retraction Watch. SAGE Publications busts peer review citation ring, 60 papers retracted

31 Legal troubles from misconduct Former Novartis employee arrested As reported in The Lancet, Shirahashi allegedly altered charts comparing the frequency of stroke in trial participants who were given Diovan and other hypertension drugs, before submitting the falsified data to the Kyoto researchers. He faces up to 2 years in prison Possible fine of JPY 2 million McCurry J. Former Novartis employee arrested over valsartan data. The Lancet. 201 Vol 383 June 21: World News

32 Remember How can we keep research misconduct in check? 64 32

33 Follow guidelines, monitor inventories, and audit processes 65 Follow guidelines US Federal Policy icy.cfm International Committee of Medical Journal Editors Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) GPP

34 Communicate with each other, at all levels Did you dry, photograph, and store the gel? Of course, barcoded and all! 67 Systematically label and archive 68 34

35 Repository provided by a journal 69 Archiving in JAPAN National Institute of Informatics (NII) provides platforms and portal services Statistical analysis of Japanese Institutional Repositories databases 495 Institutions Over 2 million records (as of 2015/09/04) 3.3% are data or datasets 70 35

36 Manage physical and digital materials properly to prevent misconduct 5. How do the ORI and journals detect research misconduct? 72 36

37 What is the ORI? Office of Research Integrity oversees and directs Public Health Service (PHS) research integrity on behalf of the of the Secretary of Health and Human Services with the exception of the regulatory research integrity activities of the Food and Drug Administration in the USA You may say, I don t apply for PHS research grants so why do I need to know about the ORI! The ORI provides tools to publishers to detect research misconduct 73 Forensic tools of the ORI

38 ORI Analyzing fake data Tool detects non-uniformly distributed numerical patterns Check of Excel Macros that intentionally manipulates data Hidden numbers Newman A. The art of detecting data and image manipulation. Editors Update 2013 Issue 41. Available from: 75 ORI detecting manipulated images Adobe Photoshop add-ins Forensic Droplets (changes in shading, additions or deletions) Forensic Actions (show history of changes) Adobe Bridge (sequential versions) Image J (NIH tool) PowerPoint reset picture tool shows underlying images Newman A. The art of detecting data and image manipulation. Editors Update 2013 Issue 41. Available from:

39 A few more cells, or bands added and removed The NIH Catalyst. Rossner M and Yamada K. WHAT'S IN A PICTURE? THE TEMPTATION OF IMAGE MANIPULATION VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3, MAY JUNE ORI detecting plagiarism Déjà vu: A database of highly similar citations identified by text similarity engine, etblast

Journals Detect plagiarism cross check Powered by ithenticate http://www.

40 Journals Detect plagiarism cross check Powered by ithenticate 79 Summary 80 40

41 Take home message Prevent research misconduct Establish good laboratory and writing practices 81 References Hofmann et al. Scientific dishonesty a nationwide survey of doctoral students in Norway. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14:3. Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy. On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research. Third Edition. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.; 2009 Custers R. Research misconduct The grey area of Questionable Research Practices. 30 Sep Available from Questionable-Research-Practices.aspx Rossner M and Yamada K. The NIH Catalyst. WHAT'S IN A PICTURE? THE TEMPTATION OF IMAGE MANIPULATION. VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3, MAY JUNE

42 References Retraction Watch. Elsevier retracting 16 papers for faked peer review Retraction Watch. Former Columbia postdoc faked Alzheimer s research in Cell and Nature. Retraction Watch. SAGE Publications busts peer review citation ring, 60 papers retracted. McNutt M. Retraction of LaCour and Green, Science 346 (6215) Published Online May Science 5 June 2015: Vol. 348 no p DOI: /science.aac6638. Available from: 83 References McCurry J. Former Novartis employee arrested over valsartan data. The Lancet. 201 Vol 383 June 21: World News. Newman A. The art of detecting data and image manipulation. Editors Update 2013 Issue 41. Available from: november-2013/the-art-of-detecting-data-and-image-manipulation/ Battisti WP et al. Good Publication Practice for Communicating Company- Sponsored Medical Research: GPP3. Ann Intern Med. doi: /m International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals Available from:

Contact Details Mary Nishikawa, MA, ELS Board Certified Editor in the Life Sciences Trainer in Academic Communications nishikawa@cactus.co.jp Cactus Communications K.K. Japan: www.editage.

43 Contact Details Mary Nishikawa, MA, ELS Board Certified Editor in the Life Sciences Trainer in Academic Communications Cactus Communications K.K. Japan: For more learning resources, visit Dr. Eddy TM personifies our efforts to support authors with good publication practices. He can be found at Editage Insights

If a complaint is filed over a dispute, an investigation may be conducted with the journal editor and author's institution to reach a resolution.

If a complaint is filed over a dispute, an investigation may be conducted with the journal editor and author's institution to reach a resolution. Authorship Naming authors on a scientific paper ensures that the appropriate individuals get credit, and are accountable, for the research. Deliberately misrepresenting a scientist's relationship to their