In their never-ending search for truth, science and medical research rely heavily on data published in peer-reviewed journals. Subsequent publication of incorrect scientific data may interfere with the process of implementation of new treatment modalities and insights and understanding of disease processes. This may be caused by simple mistakes or involuntary misinterpretation without overt scientific misconduct or fraudulent publication. However, there are common problems that all medical and/or scientific journal editorial boards face:
A
Fraud which includes data falsification, faked data, data manipulation, omission of important data.
B
Ethical misconduct with regard to study design, patient inclusion and interpretation of data.
C
Misconduct: for example, presentation of strongly tainted data under pressure of industry, companies and for-profit organisations; or failure to maintain confidentiality and embargos.
D
The problem of inappropriate authorship.
E
Plagiarism: data, information or complete medical papers from others and other groups are presented as original own work.
F
Double publication and redundant publication: parts of, or the same research data and results are presented in different journals without consent or notification of the journal editors. Duplicate publication can take other forms such as splitting data into the ‘minimal publishable unit’(MPU).
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