522715
research-article2014
NSQXXX10.1177/0894318414522715Nursing Science QuarterlyParse / Editorial
Editorial Nursing Science Quarterly 2014, Vol. 27(2) 95 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0894318414522715 nsq.sagepub.com
Integrity in Publication Rosemarie Rizzo Parse, RN; PhD; FAAN1 Keywords coauthoring articles, integrity in publication The notion of integrity in publication surfaces frequently at scientific conferences and in various academic settings. Some major questions from faculty, doctoral students, and others regarding integrity were discussed at an international research conference in the summer of 2013. The questions that topped the list of doctoral (PhD) student concerns surrounded the issue of who should coauthor articles that are derived from their dissertations: Should the doctoral graduate be the sole author of articles that arise from the dissertation? Should the chair of the dissertation committee coauthor the articles? Should all members of the dissertation committee coauthor the articles? Participants did not agree on the answers to these questions. Some faculty believed that just the chair of the committee should coauthor the articles; others said that all committee members should be coauthors, and a few faculty members believed that the PhD graduate should be the sole author. Most participants agreed that the person or persons who contributed the most time and effort to the dissertation and subsequent articles should be coauthors. However, this raised the question, who decides who contributed the most? In some academic situations precedent exists related to coauthoring dissertations and findings from research projects; sometimes these traditions are followed, but not always, and often without regular reexamination. Conference participants agreed that the issue of coauthoring articles arising from PhD dissertations should be decided by the respective academic institutions with doctoral student input, and should be clear and disseminated to all concerned. Integrity with coauthoring articles becomes even more complex with the growing emphasis on interprofessional research projects that lead to publication. With multiple disciplines involved, who should be the first author of articles derived from the research projects, and in what disciplinary journal should the research findings be published? Should there be multiple publications with different first authors from the same research findings, taking into consideration the different focus of each discipline? How would duplicate publication be prevented to preserve the integrity of the research endeavor and the reputation of the scholars involved? At the conference these questions led to a discussion about scientific merit. For example, how do interprofessional research findings enhance discipline-specific knowledge? Semantic consistency has long been the hallmark of sound sciencing; this has meant that the conceptual framework guiding research projects arises from the
worldview of a particular discipline, and the language of that discipline is consistent throughout the research endeavor in order to provide logical coherence. How is this related to integrity? Another question regarding integrity in publication that surfaced from these concerns was who, among the interprofessional team members, would be responsible to safeguard against false reporting of findings, duplicate publication, and plagiarism. This requires monitoring for clarity in presenting facts without obfuscation, honesty in sharing the details of the entire research endeavor, and wisdom in utilizing resources for disseminating findings. It seems that confusion could reign in coauthoring manuscripts for publication, regardless of whether the content is from creative conceptualization or research findings that arise from dissertation research or research conducted with multiple interprofessional colleagues. What are the solutions? To avoid compromising integrity, formal agreements should be signed by all parties before the beginning of all research or other projects, and the agreement with each project should be revisited regularly to allow for appropriate changes. While some institutions already have policies in place, perhaps changes are in order in light of the changing face of research endeavors and the demand for immediate publication of research findings. The demand for immediate publication of findings has spawned open-access publication, which creates yet another concern related to integrity with the potential for minimal peer review. Questions related to integrity in publication are pressing, as technological advances continue to create opportunities and limitations that challenge principles and policies. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this editorial.
Funding The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this editorial. 1
Loyola University Chicago, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Editor: Rosemarie Rizzo Parse, RN, PhD, FAAN, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Loyola University Chicago, 320 Fort Duquesne Blvd. #25H, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, USA. Email: [email protected]
research-article2014
NSQXXX10.1177/0894318414522715Nursing Science QuarterlyParse / Editorial
Editorial Nursing Science Quarterly 2014, Vol. 27(2) 95 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0894318414522715 nsq.sagepub.com
Integrity in Publication Rosemarie Rizzo Parse, RN; PhD; FAAN1 Keywords coauthoring articles, integrity in publication The notion of integrity in publication surfaces frequently at scientific conferences and in various academic settings. Some major questions from faculty, doctoral students, and others regarding integrity were discussed at an international research conference in the summer of 2013. The questions that topped the list of doctoral (PhD) student concerns surrounded the issue of who should coauthor articles that are derived from their dissertations: Should the doctoral graduate be the sole author of articles that arise from the dissertation? Should the chair of the dissertation committee coauthor the articles? Should all members of the dissertation committee coauthor the articles? Participants did not agree on the answers to these questions. Some faculty believed that just the chair of the committee should coauthor the articles; others said that all committee members should be coauthors, and a few faculty members believed that the PhD graduate should be the sole author. Most participants agreed that the person or persons who contributed the most time and effort to the dissertation and subsequent articles should be coauthors. However, this raised the question, who decides who contributed the most? In some academic situations precedent exists related to coauthoring dissertations and findings from research projects; sometimes these traditions are followed, but not always, and often without regular reexamination. Conference participants agreed that the issue of coauthoring articles arising from PhD dissertations should be decided by the respective academic institutions with doctoral student input, and should be clear and disseminated to all concerned. Integrity with coauthoring articles becomes even more complex with the growing emphasis on interprofessional research projects that lead to publication. With multiple disciplines involved, who should be the first author of articles derived from the research projects, and in what disciplinary journal should the research findings be published? Should there be multiple publications with different first authors from the same research findings, taking into consideration the different focus of each discipline? How would duplicate publication be prevented to preserve the integrity of the research endeavor and the reputation of the scholars involved? At the conference these questions led to a discussion about scientific merit. For example, how do interprofessional research findings enhance discipline-specific knowledge? Semantic consistency has long been the hallmark of sound sciencing; this has meant that the conceptual framework guiding research projects arises from the
worldview of a particular discipline, and the language of that discipline is consistent throughout the research endeavor in order to provide logical coherence. How is this related to integrity? Another question regarding integrity in publication that surfaced from these concerns was who, among the interprofessional team members, would be responsible to safeguard against false reporting of findings, duplicate publication, and plagiarism. This requires monitoring for clarity in presenting facts without obfuscation, honesty in sharing the details of the entire research endeavor, and wisdom in utilizing resources for disseminating findings. It seems that confusion could reign in coauthoring manuscripts for publication, regardless of whether the content is from creative conceptualization or research findings that arise from dissertation research or research conducted with multiple interprofessional colleagues. What are the solutions? To avoid compromising integrity, formal agreements should be signed by all parties before the beginning of all research or other projects, and the agreement with each project should be revisited regularly to allow for appropriate changes. While some institutions already have policies in place, perhaps changes are in order in light of the changing face of research endeavors and the demand for immediate publication of research findings. The demand for immediate publication of findings has spawned open-access publication, which creates yet another concern related to integrity with the potential for minimal peer review. Questions related to integrity in publication are pressing, as technological advances continue to create opportunities and limitations that challenge principles and policies. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this editorial.
Funding The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this editorial. 1
Loyola University Chicago, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Editor: Rosemarie Rizzo Parse, RN, PhD, FAAN, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Loyola University Chicago, 320 Fort Duquesne Blvd. #25H, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, USA. Email: [email protected]
