Decision letter: Co-reviewing and ghostwriting by early-career researchers in the peer review of manuscripts

Lapses in scientific integrity, such as plagiarism, persist in the scientific realm. To be successful and contributory, early-career researchers (ECRs), including graduate students, need to be able to effectively navigate the literature, peer-review process, and scientific research with integrity. Here we discuss different aspects of scientific integrity related to ECRs. Our discussion centres on the concepts of plagiarism and intellectual property, predatory journals, aspects of peer review, transparency in publishing, and false advanced accreditations. Negative elements within these topics may be especially damaging to ECRs, who may be less familiar with the research landscape. We highlight the need for ECRs to approach scientific investigation cautiously and thoughtfully to promote integrity through critical thinking.

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How to bring peer review ghostwriters out of the dark

Molecular Biology of the Cell ◽

10.1091/mbc.e20-10-0642 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 32 (6) ◽

pp. 461-466

Author(s):

Gary S. McDowell ◽

Caroline A. Niziolek ◽

Rebeccah S. Lijek

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Early Career ◽

Peer Reviews ◽

Early Career Researchers

Early career researchers are frequent and valuable contributors to peer review. Systemic changes that acknowledge this fact would result in ethical co-reviewing, peer reviews of greater quality, and a reduction in peer reviewer burden.

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Early career researchers and their authorship and peer review beliefs and practices: An international study

Learned Publishing ◽

10.1002/leap.1283 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 142-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hamid R. Jamali ◽

David Nicholas ◽

Anthony Watkinson ◽

Abdullah Abrizah ◽

Blanca Rodríguez‐Bravo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

International Study ◽

Early Career ◽

Beliefs And Practices ◽

Early Career Researchers

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Early career researchers and their involvement in peer review

Editage Insights ◽

10.34193/ei-a-5170 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Editage Insights

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Early Career ◽

Early Career Researchers

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REGISTERED REPORTS FOR ECRS: ENABLING SLOW SCIENCE ON TIGHT TIMELINES

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.089 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S24-S24

Author(s):

Rita Ludwig

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Journal Article ◽

Open Science ◽

Early Career ◽

Scientific Thinking ◽

Publication Process ◽

Longitudinal Methods ◽

Early Career Researchers ◽

Scientific Project ◽

The Ideal

Abstract Early career researchers (ECRs) may experience tension between the ideal and actual amounts of time they have to complete a scientific project. Sometimes, a timeline is truncated because a citable product is required for applications or fellowship deadlines. This scenario is especially common for researchers who use longitudinal methods, and/or those who work with hard-to-access samples. Registered reports, an open science initiative, offer one resolution to this tension. In registered reports, the steps of analysis planning, manuscript writing, and peer review occur earlier than the traditional journal article publication process. If an in principle acceptance is earned, ECRs are afforded citable, peer-reviewed acknowledgement of their scientific thinking prior to the conclusion of a research project. This talk will serve as a primer on the registered report process. I will also discuss resources for writing registered reports, and provide a list of relevant participating journals in the field of gerontology.

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On the value of preprints: an early career researcher perspective

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27400v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sarvenaz Sarabipour ◽

Humberto J Debat ◽

Edward Emmott ◽

Steven Burgess ◽

Benjamin Schwessinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Peer Review Process ◽

Life Sciences ◽

Early Career ◽

Journal Publication ◽

Early Career Researchers ◽

Brand Recognition ◽

Public Record ◽

Rapid Dissemination ◽

Early Career Researcher

Peer-reviewed journal publication is the main means for academic researchers in the life sciences to create a permanent, public record of their work. These publications are also the de facto currency for career progress, with a strong link between journal brand recognition and perceived value. The current peer-review process can lead to long delays between submission and publication, with cycles of rejection, revision and resubmission causing redundant peer review. This situation creates unique challenges for early career researchers (ECRs), who rely heavily on timely publication of their work to gain recognition for their efforts. ECRs face changes in the academic landscape including the increased interdisciplinarity of life sciences research, expansion of the researcher population and consequent shifts in employer and funding demands. The publication of preprints, publicly available scientific manuscripts posted on dedicated preprint servers prior to journal managed peer-review, can play a key role in addressing these ECR challenges. Preprinting benefits include rapid dissemination of academic work, open access, establishing priority or concurrence, receiving feedback and facilitating collaborations. While there is a growing appreciation for and adoption of preprints, a minority of all articles in life sciences and medicine are preprinted. The current low rate of preprint submissions in life sciences and ECR concerns regarding preprinting needs to be addressed. We provide a perspective from an interdisciplinary group of early career researchers on the value of preprints and advocate the wide adoption of preprints to advance knowledge and facilitate career development.

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How to publish your manuscript successfully (with Wiley)

10.22541/au.161617745.50080991/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Matteo Cavalleri

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Review Process ◽

Peer Review Process ◽

Early Career ◽

Training Module ◽

Early Career Researchers

Part of the training module on publishing with the Council of Australian University Librarians, this 1h webinar provides tips to Early Career Researchers on how to write and accompany an article through the peer-review process. Not specific to Wiley journals, but why go elsewhere, really?

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Engaging the next generation of editorial talent through a hands-on fellowship model

10.22541/au.161549353.35451960/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Bridget Deemer ◽

Scott Hotaling ◽

Kelsey Poulson-Ellestad ◽

Laura Falkenberg ◽

James Cloern ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Subject Matter ◽

Scientific Community ◽

Early Career ◽

Editorial Process ◽

Scientific Publishing ◽

High Quality ◽

Publishing Process ◽

Early Career Researchers ◽

Hands On

Peer-review and subject-matter editing is the backbone of scientific publishing. However, early career researchers (ECRs) are given few opportunities to participate in the editorial process beyond reviewing articles. Thus, a disconnect exists: science needs high-quality editorial talent to conduct, oversee, and improve the publishing process, yet we dedicate few resources to building editorial talent nor giving ECRs formal opportunities to influence the publishing landscape from within. Here, we describe a “two-way” fellowship model that gives ECRs a “seat” at the editorial table of a field-leading journal. We describe both the necessary framework and benefits that can stem from editorial fellowships for ECRs, editors, journals, and the scientific community.

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