Ethics Toolkit

The following materials include tools to help avoid misconduct and background materials about research and publication ethics. If in doubt, nothing can replace a candid conversation with your advisor, or someone in a position of authority who can guide you to the right course of action.

Duplicate Submission Fact Sheet English | Spanish | Chinese
Research Fraud Fact Sheet English | Spanish | Chinese
Plagiarism Fact Sheet English | Spanish | Chinese
Authorship Fact Sheet English
Conflict of Interest Fact Sheet English
Salami Slicing Fact Sheet English
Top 5 Reasons to Publish Ethically Poster

Toolkit Videos

Dr. Jaap van Harten, Executive Publisher, Elsevier, shares insights about research and publishing ethics, data manipulation, plagiarism, publication duplication, and the consequences of scientific misconduct.3

Toolkit Videos [Show All]
- What are the major types of scientific misconduct? - What are the types of data manipulation? - What is figure falsification in the publishing process? - Is figure manipulation completely unacceptable? - What is the common scenario in publishing misconduct? - Are there forms of publication misconduct besides plagiarism? - How often does plagiarism occur? - How do publishers detect publication misconduct? - Is it difficult to identify research misconduct? - What are the consequences of scientific misconduct to you (the author), your institution and the research community? - What are the consequences of scientific misconduct to you personally? - What would be a typical case of plagiarism? - What should you do if you suspect ethical misconduct?

Ethics Tools
What constitutes scientific
misconduct and breach of
publishing ethics?

Scientific misconduct and breach of publishing
ethics can take different shapes and forms, and
can be committed knowingly or unknowingly.

Webcast about ethics in research and publication

Our experts David Rew, Margaret Rees, and Sandy Florence have presented a webcast to help early career researchers understand the ethical boundaries in scientific research and publishing. The webcast can be freely watched on demand, after registration.

Ethics Webcasr: Click here to view the webcast Webcast slides

Examples of scientific misconduct

  • Research fraud - which includes fabrication (making up research data); and falsification (manipulation of existing research data, tables, or images)1
  • Improper use of humans or animals in research - which includes absent or inadequate informed consent of human subjects, or maltreatment of laboratory animals2

Examples of breach of publications ethics

  • Plagiarism - passing off another's work or idea as your own
  • Duplicate submission - submitting a paper simultaneously to more than one publication at a time
  • Conflict of interest - nondisclosure to the publication that you have a direct or indirect conflict that prevents you from being unbiased in your paper, such as being employed by those commissioning the research work2

References

1. Office of Research Integrity U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Definition of Research Misconduct. Available at: http://ori.hhs.gov/definition-misconduct. Accessed: June 12, 2012.
2. Scott-Lichter D and the Editorial Policy Committee, Council of Science Editors. CSE's White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications, 2012 Update. 3rd Revised Edition. Wheat Ridge, CO: 2012. Available at: http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/files/public/entire_whitepaper.pdf Accessed: June 12, 2012.
3. These video's first appeared on www.biggerbrains.com