scholarly journals The Prevalence of Inappropriate Image Duplication in Biomedical Research Publications

mBio ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth M. Bik ◽  
Arturo Casadevall ◽  
Ferric C. Fang
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Marked Variation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Inaccurate Data ◽  
Research Publications ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Actual Prevalence

ABSTRACT Inaccurate data in scientific papers can result from honest error or intentional falsification. This study attempted to determine the percentage of published papers that contain inappropriate image duplication, a specific type of inaccurate data. The images from a total of 20,621 papers published in 40 scientific journals from 1995 to 2014 were visually screened. Overall, 3.8% of published papers contained problematic figures, with at least half exhibiting features suggestive of deliberate manipulation. The prevalence of papers with problematic images has risen markedly during the past decade. Additional papers written by authors of papers with problematic images had an increased likelihood of containing problematic images as well. As this analysis focused only on one type of data, it is likely that the actual prevalence of inaccurate data in the published literature is higher. The marked variation in the frequency of problematic images among journals suggests that journal practices, such as prepublication image screening, influence the quality of the scientific literature.

scholarly journals The Prevalence of Inappropriate Image Duplication in Biomedical Research Publications

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth M. Bik ◽  
Arturo Casadevall ◽  
Ferric C. Fang
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Marked Variation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Inaccurate Data ◽  
Research Publications ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Actual Prevalence

ABSTRACTInaccurate data in scientific papers can result from honest error or intentional falsification. This study attempted to determine the percentage of published papers containing inappropriate image duplication, a specific type of inaccurate data. The images from a total of 20,621 papers in 40 scientific journals from 1995-2014 were visually screened. Overall, 3.8% of published papers contained problematic figures, with at least half exhibiting features suggestive of deliberate manipulation. The prevalence of papers with problematic images rose markedly during the past decade. Additional papers written by authors of papers with problematic images had an increased likelihood of containing problematic images as well. As this analysis focused only on one type of data, it is likely that the actual prevalence of inaccurate data in the published literature is higher. The marked variation in the frequency of problematic images among journals suggest that journal practices, such as pre-publication image screening, influence the quality of the scientific literature.

Scientific Papers and Patents on Substances with Unproven Effects

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergei V. Jargin
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Dietary Supplements ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Constructive Discussion

It is evident from reviewing scientific literature that the quality of argumentation in some areas of medical research has deteriorated during the last decades. Publication of a series of questionable reliability has continued without making references to the published criticism; examples are discussed in this review. Another tendency is that drugs without proven efficiency are advertised, corresponding products patented and marketed as evidence-based medications. Professional publications are required to register drugs and dietary supplements to obtain permissions for the practical use; and such papers appeared, sometimes being of questionable reliability. Several examples are discussed in this review when substances without proven effects were patented and introduced into practice being supported by publications of questionable reliability. Some of the topics are not entirely clear; and the arguments provided here can induce a constructive discussion.

Anti-psychotics: To withdraw or not to withdraw?

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S752-S752
Author(s):  
C. Ferreira ◽  
S. Alves ◽  
C. Oliveira ◽  
M.J. Avelino
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Online Searching ◽  
Cardiac Side Effects ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Few Data

IntroductionAnti-psychotics constitute a class of psychotropic drugs used for the treatment and prophylaxis of several disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and psychotic depression. Frequently, clinicians are asked by their patients to withdraw this medication. In some cases, that may be related to notable side effects. However, it may actually indicate an inadequate control of the psychiatric disorder with poor insight.AimsThe goal of this work is to systematically review the scientific literature in order to understand if there are consistent data that support anti-psychotics withdraw in specific clinical situations.MethodsThe literature was reviewed by online searching using PubMed®. The authors selected scientific papers with the words “anti-psychotics” and “withdraw” in the title and/or abstract, published in English.Results and discussionAnti-psychotics improve prognosis and enhance patients’ quality of life. There are few data in the literature regarding recommendations that support anti-psychotic withdraw in psychiatric patients. Very specific conditions must exist for withdrawing anti-psychotics, like neuroleptic malignant syndrome, cardiac side effects, and change of diagnosis or prolonged remission after a first and single psychotic event. When that decision is made, it should be done slowly and carefully and both the patient and his family should be involved.ConclusionsThere is no evidence in the literature that supports withdraw of anti-psychotics for the majority of psychiatric situations. When specific conditions are present that possibility must then be considered, however, with careful consideration and after discussion with the patient and parties involved in patient's care.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Description of color/race in Brazilian biomedical research

2012 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Veronica Catonho Ribeiro ◽  
Luzitano Brandão Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Skin Color ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Systematic Search ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Race Ethnicity

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Over recent years, the terms race and ethnicity have been used to ascertain inequities in public health. However, this use depends on the quality of the data available. This study aimed to investigate the description of color/race in Brazilian scientific journals within the field of biomedicine. DESIGN AND SETTING: Descriptive study with systematic search for scientific articles in the SciELO Brazil database. METHODS: A wide-ranging systematic search for original articles involving humans, published in 32 Brazilian biomedical scientific journals in the SciELO Brazil database between January and December 2008, was performed. Articles in which the race/ethnicity of the participants was identified were analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 1,180 articles were analyzed. The terms for describing race or ethnicity were often ambiguous and vague. Descriptions of race or ethnicity occurred in 159 articles (13.4%), but only in 42 (26.4%) was there a description of how individuals were identified. In these, race and ethnicity were used almost interchangeably and definition was according to skin color (71.4%), ancestry (19.0%) and self-definition (9.6%). Twenty-two races or ethnicities were cited, and the most common were white (37.3%), black (19.7%), mixed (12.9%), nonwhite (8.1%) and yellow (8.1%). CONCLUSION: The absence of descriptions of parameters for defining race, as well as the use of vague and ambiguous terms, may hamper and even prevent comparisons between human groups and the use of these data to ascertain inequities in healthcare.

scholarly journals Regaining perspective on SARS-CoV-2 molecular tracing and its implications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Mavian ◽  
Simone Marini ◽  
Costanza Manes ◽  
Ilaria Capua ◽  
Mattia Prosperi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Heterogeneity ◽  
Partial Information ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Full Genome ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
The Past ◽  
Viral Sequences

AbstractDuring the past three months, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic has been growing exponentially, affecting over 100 thousand people worldwide, and causing enormous distress to economies and societies of affected countries. A plethora of analyses based on viral sequences has already been published, in scientific journals as well as through non-peer reviewed channels, to investigate SARS-CoV-2 genetic heterogeneity and spatiotemporal dissemination. We examined all full genome sequences currently available to assess the presence of sufficient information for reliable phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies. Our analysis clearly shows severe limitations in the present data, in light of which any finding should be considered, at the very best, preliminary and hypothesis-generating. Hence the need for avoiding stigmatization based on partial information, and for continuing concerted efforts to increase number and quality of the sequences required for robust tracing of the epidemic.

Publication process

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Impact Factor ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Objective Indicators

The final phase in the research process is the publication of research findings in a paper in scientific journals. Authors who contributed to the developed work are reported in the manuscript. There are now rules and guidelines to help in improving the transparency for the reporting of authorship and contributorship in papers which are discussed in this chapter The appraisal of the quality of scientific and medical can be difficult. Criteria that had been used in the past included journal prestige, the reputation of authors and institution and prestige and estimated importance and relevance of the research field. However, these factors are both qualitative and subjective. Consequently, there is demand for quatitative and objective indicators for evaluating research that is related to published science. The impact factor is perhaps the most widely used indicator that measures and quantifies a journal’s quality.

scholarly journals The Problem of Accuracy of Economic Data

2021 ◽  
pp. 257-266
Author(s):  
Philipp Bagus
Keyword(s):  
Small Error ◽  
Reliable Data ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
The Past ◽  
Inaccurate Data ◽  
Mathematical Equations ◽  
Austrian Tradition ◽  
Mathematical Operations

In his classic book On the Accuracy of Economic Observation Oskar Morgenstern deals with a common, yet widely neglected problem with which economic historians are faced, namely the quality of economic data. For the economic historian in the Austrian tradition, the quality of economic data is of utmost importance, since false data or belief in inaccurate data can lead the economic historian to faulty interpretations of the past. The quality of economic data is at least as important for economists who adhere to positivism in economics, since they use economic data to confirm or falsify their models. Likewise, Morgenstern’s insights are relevant for mathe-matical economists, as it makes sense to perform computations and solve a system of mathematical equations only if one has reliable data. Morgenstern’s sample equations show the significance of a small error in the observation. Yet, in more complex equations with extensive mathematical operations the extent of error due to unreliable data may increase (or, depending on the equation, the errors may cancel out). It is indeed surprising to note how much the problem of accuracy in economic data has been neglected. This is not so in the physical sciences. There the error of observation is always explicitly mentioned. Yet in economics there is simply no error estimate. This means that we do not know the accuracy of the economic data presented to us. This is even more troubling when we consider that in social or economic data there are more possible sources of error than in the physical sciences. We therefore face the question of why the problem of accuracy of economic data is rarely mentioned or passed over in silence in economics, while in the physical sciences this problem is widely acknowledged.

scholarly journals Interpersonal human relations: a profile of the literature on social skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e3010212066
Author(s):  
Jefferson Oliveira Francica ◽  
Marcio Siqueira ◽  
Anselmo Cordeiro de Souza ◽  
Sideli Biazzi ◽  
Cristina Zukowsky-Tavares
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Human Relations ◽  
Main Target ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Emerging Themes ◽  
Opening Up

This study aimed to investigate the trends of available national contributions on social skills in scientific journals indexed in the area of psychology. This is a narrative review of the scientific literature on the field of social skills in Brazil carried out in the Index Psi database. We have observed 36 articles that met the selection criteria established. Among the main results, we highlight that a prevalent publications profile was presented with children and adolescents as the main target audience, and the Del Prette Social Skills Inventory as an instrument for data collection. We highlight interventions to appropriate the repertoire of social skills in all stages of human development since childhood, with special care for the male sex. It is concluded that the reasonable amount of articles on social skills, are directed to approaches already traditional in the literature with strong influence in the field of psychological and educational studies in general. The panorama evidenced in the present study suggests opening up on the horizon an extensive and important agenda for a better understanding of social skills in the Brazilian scenario, in relation to its association with topics still little investigated, namely, health promotion in the territory, professional categories, lifestyle and quality of life related to health, and the still emerging themes of spirituality and religiosity.

scholarly journals The impact of genome-wide association studies on biomedical research publications

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis J. Struck ◽  
Brian K. Mannakee ◽  
Ryan N. Gutenkunst
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Human Disease ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Disease Genes ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Complex Human Disease ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Publications ◽  
Genome Wide

AbstractThe past decade has seen major investment in genome-wide association studies (GWAS), with the goal of identifying and motivating research on novel genes involved in complex human disease. To assess whether this goal is being met, we quantified the effect of GWAS on the overall distribution of biomedical research publications and on the subsequent publication history of genes newly associated with complex disease. We found that the historical skew of publications toward genes involved in Mendelian disease has not changed since the advent of GWAS. Genes newly implicated by GWAS in complex disease do experience additional publications compared to control genes, and they are more likely to become exceptionally studied. But the magnitude of both effects has declined dramatically over the past decade. Our results suggest that reforms to encourage follow-up studies may be needed for GWAS to most successfully guide biomedical research toward the molecular mechanisms underlying complex human disease.Author summaryOver the past decade, thousands of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been performed to link genetic variation with complex human disease. A major goal of such studies is to identify novel disease genes, so they can be further studied. We tested whether this goal is being met, by studying patterns of scientific research publications on human genes. We found that publications are still concentrated on genes involved in simple Mendelian disease, even after the advent of GWAS. Compared to other genes, disease genes discovered by GWAS do experience additional publications, but that effect has declined dramatically since GWAS were first performed. Our results suggest that the ability of GWAS to stimulate research into novel disease genes is declining. To realize the full potential of GWAS to reveal the molecular mechanisms driving human disease, this decline and the reasons for it must be understood, so that it can be reversed.

scholarly journals Scientific citations in Wikipedia

First Monday ◽  
2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finn Arup Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Slight Tendency ◽  
Journal Citation Reports ◽  
Good Agreement

The Internet-based encyclopaedia Wikipedia has grown to become one of the most visited Web sites on the Internet, but critics have questioned the quality of entries. An empirical study of Wikipedia found errors in a 2005 sample of science entries. Biased coverage and lack of sources are among the "Wikipedia risks." This paper describes a simple assessment of these aspects by examining the outbound links from Wikipedia articles to articles in scientific journals with a comparison against journal statistics from Journal Citation Reports such as impact factors. The results show an increasing use of structured citation markup and good agreement with citation patterns seen in the scientific literature though with a slight tendency to cite articles in high-impact journals such as Nature and Science. These results increase confidence in Wikipedia as a reliable information resource for science in general.

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