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Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore the interrelationship between research ethics and research integrity with a focus on the primary forms of research misconduct, including plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification. It also details the main factors for their occurrence, and the possible ways for mitigating their use among scholars. Methods: The method employed a detailed examination of the main ethical dilemmas, as delineated in literature, as well as the factors leading to these ethical breaches and the strategies to mitigate them. Further, the teaching experiences of the primary author are reflected in the development of the model. Results: The results of this article are represented in a model illustrating the interrelationship between research ethics and research integrity. Further, a significant aspect of our article is the identification of novel forms of research misconduct concerning the use of irrelevant or forced citations or references. Conclusion: In conclusion, the article highlights the substantial positive effects that adherence to research ethics and integrity have on the academic well-being of scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Second victim is the name given to the healthcare personnel—most often a nursing professional—involved with the error that led to the adverse event to a patient and who, as a result, have experienced negative psychological effects. Research with second victims has increased over the years, however concerns exist with regards to the ethical risks imposed upon these individuals. Aim: To explore the extent to which research with second victims of adverse events in healthcare settings adhere to ethical requirements. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework and using the following databases: PUBMED, Web of Science, and SCOPUS. Original research of any study design focused on second victims and published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese in 2014–2023 were included. A critical narrative approach was used to discuss the findings. Ethical considerations: The review followed ethical guidelines emphasizing accurate authorship attribution and truthful data reporting. Results: Fifteen studies using qualitative (n = 2), quantitative (n = 10), and mixed-method (n = 3) designs were included. Over half were not assessed by a research ethics committee, with questionable reasons given by the authors. One-third did not refer to having used an informed consent. In two studies, participants were recruited by their workplace superiors, which could potentially right to autonomy and voluntary participation. Conclusion: Over half of the included studies with second victims did not comply with fundamental ethical aspects, with risk to inflict respect for individual autonomy, confidentiality, and of not causing any harm to participants. Implications for nursing research: Healthcare personnel involved in adverse events are most often nursing professionals; therefore, any breach of ethics in research with this population is likely to directly affect their rights as research participants. We provide recommendations to promote better research practices with second victims towards safeguarding their rights as research participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific fake papers, containing manipulated or completely fabricated data, are a problem that has reached dramatic dimensions. Companies known as paper mills (or more bluntly as "criminal science publishing gangs") produce and sell such fake papers on a large scale. The main drivers of the fake paper flood are the pressure in academic systems and (monetary) incentives to publish in respected scientific journals and sometimes the personal desire for increased "prestige." Published fake papers cause substantial scientific, economic, and social damage. There are numerous information sources that deal with this topic from different points of view. This review aims to provide an overview of these information sources until June 2024. Much more original research with larger datasets is needed, for example on the extent and impact of the fake paper problem and especially on how to detect them, as many findings are based more on small datasets, anecdotal evidence, and assumptions. A long-term solution would be to overcome the mantra of publication metrics for evaluating scientists in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, scholarly journals have begun retracting published articles for reasons other than those described by advisory organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Numerous research articles have been retracted of late due to political concerns. Additionally, some articles have been retracted for behavioral misconduct, which was also the subject of a recent COPE discussion forum. 'Behavioral misconduct' denotes harmful or immoral behavior of one or more authors that is unrelated to the article's findings or content. We investigated whether federally funded research scientists considered behavioral misconduct a valid reason for retracting published findings and whether the type of behavioral misconduct involved, the level of the expected scientific impact of the article in question, or the kind of editorial action taken affected their support of retraction. Of the 464 participants who took our survey, we found that researchers largely oppose retraction of a published article or removing an author when scientists commit behavioral misconduct, regardless of the type of misconduct involved. However, there was greater support for retraction when the misconduct was financial as compared to racial or sexual misconduct. Not surprisingly, researchers were more likely to use the published information in question in their own work when its impact was high. Future studies should investigate the extent to which these findings are moderated by researchers' editorial experience and other demographic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study utilizes a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) questionnaire to investigate the awareness of medical professionals in the Ningxia region regarding research integrity and their attitudes towards academic misconduct. A comprehensive analysis of the factors contributing to academic misconduct is performed, with the aim of providing insights for the formulation of policies to enhance research integrity. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. It performed between May 2023 and October 2023, and the questionnaires were distributed and collected through Wenjuanxing and WeChat platforms. The research employs a self-designed KAP survey questionnaire distributed online for clinical doctors and nurses in hospital, faculty members in medical higher education institutions, and undergraduates enrolled in medical schools in the Ningxia region. Results: A total of 1013 valid questionnaires were collected, with a majority of participants (76.2%) having received training in research integrity. The survey results indicate that a significant majority of participants (75.04%) cannot tolerate academic misconduct. More than 70% of respondents believe that the main reasons for academic misconduct are a lack of understanding of academic ethical norms, a deficiency in personal integrity awareness, individual inadequacy in research capabilities, and excessive pressure. When it comes to measures for academic misconduct reduction, over 70% of individuals believe that strengthening research integrity training, improving the assessment methods for research outcomes, and enhancing personal research capabilities can decrease instances of academic misconduct. Most respondents demonstrated a basic understanding of research integrity and maintained a resistant attitude towards academic misconduct. However, there exists an insufficient awareness of certain forms of academic misconduct. The study recommends implementing multifaceted measures to enhance the ethical awareness and attitudes of researchers. Conclusion: In this study, a KAP questionnaire was administered to clinicians, nurses, medical faculty and students to find out their understanding of research integrity and their attitudes towards academic misconduct. Most of the respondents had a negative attitude towards academic misconduct, but their understanding of research integrity could be improved. Furthermore, university teachers' understanding of research integrity and their attitudes towards academic misconduct were better than other groups, and university students had lower scores in this area, so it is recommended to take various measures to improve their understanding of research integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of automation on scientific publication, citing artificial intelligence fraud and artificial intelligence detection.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyze the adoption of digital technologies in the banking industry and its impact on the rise of digital fraudulent activities, specifically focusing on online banking frauds. This paper aims to provide insights into the current technologies implemented by banks to secure their online banking systems and explores the methods used by cybercriminals to exploit security vulnerabilities in these systems. Design/methodology/approach: In order to understand how digital technologies in banking can be secured against online fraud, this research conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) on digital banking, online banking fraud, and security measurements. The review encompasses a variety of sources from online databases such as Emerald Insight, Google Scholar, IEEE, JSTOR, Springer and Science Direct. Findings: The key finding of the paper is that the adoption of digital technologies in the banking industry has led to a significant increase in digital fraudulent activities, particularly in the form of online banking frauds. This paper emphasizes that these frauds have become a global concern and have evolved into an industry where cybercriminals use sophisticated tools such as phishing attacks, denial-of-service attacks, Trojan horses, malware infections, identity theft and computer viruses. Research limitations/implications: This study relies solely on a literature review without incorporating primary data or case studies; therefore, it might miss out on the firsthand experiences and perspectives of banks and cybersecurity professionals. Practical implications: This study emphasizes the need for banks to adopt advanced security measures to safeguard their online banking systems. Social implications: This study underscores the importance of ongoing training and awareness programs for both bank employees and customers. Originality/value: This study specifically addresses the adoption of digital technologies in the banking industry and its correlation with the increase in digital fraudulent activities. This focus on the intersection of technology and fraud in the banking sector is a distinctive aspect. This study conducts a SLR to examine the current technologies implemented by banks to safeguard their online banking systems. This comprehensive approach provides insights into the diverse security measures used by banks to protect against various types of cyber threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to develop and validate the scale of the Behavioral Regulation for the behavior of the Financial Statement Fraudster, from the perspective of the Organismic Integration Theory (OIT). Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the objective of this article, an exploratory and quantitative study was developed. The instrument developed followed all the steps recommended by Koufteros (1999) and MacKenzie et al. (2011), from the elaboration of the constructs based on the theory to the factorial validation of reliability. Findings: The tests applied reveal that the instrument has statistical validity and can be applied to models that seek to explain the individual motivations for committing accounting fraud. Research limitations/implications: We did not develop a mathematical model. As a suggestion for future studies, it is recommended to focus on developing a mathematical model relating the motivations to commit accounting fraud with variables capable of measuring the quality of governance or related to performance. In addition, study factors that may moderate these relationships. Practical implications: The validated instrument can be used by auditors and gatekeepers to detect the risk of fraudulent behavior. Social implications: The instrument validated here may be useful to researchers who wish to test the motivations for committing fraud in structural models. Originality/value: There is little research on accounting fraud on how to define theoretical constructs (as far as the literature review has reached, to the best of the authors' knowledge, none has been identified). In addition, few studies have been identified that suggest the OIT as an adequate theoretical lens to illuminate the phenomenon of accounting fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated reasons for retraction, pre-and post-retraction citations and Altmetrics indicators of retracted publications in the medical sciences from 2016 to 2020. Data were retrieved from Scopus (n = 840). The Retraction Watch database was used to identify the reasons for retraction and the time that elapsed from publication to retraction. The findings showed that intentional errors were the most prevalent reasons for retraction. China (438), the United States (130), and India (51) have the largest share of retractions. These retracted publications were cited 5,659 times in other research publications, of which 1,559 citations occurred after the retraction, which should raise concern. These retracted papers were also shared in online platforms, mainly on Twitter and by members of the general public. We recommend that the early detection of retracted papers may help to reduce the rate of citation and sharing of these publications, and minimize their negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More commonly today, research ethics and misconduct are ideas that are frequently violated. The availability of information sources and the dissemination of awareness among researchers can help to reduce this kind of violation. This study highlights how YouTube can be used to promote discussions of research misconduct and ethics. The study looked into how many videos there are on research ethics and misconduct, which colleges actively provide such videos, and how satisfied viewers are with the available videos by analyzing comments. Various software tools, including Webometric Analyst, R-studio, and Microsoft Excel, were applied for data collection and analysis. On 01-24-2023, 515 videos and 6984 comments were retrieved using the correct search queries that is "Research ethics" OR "Research misconduct" OR "Research conduct" OR "Scientific integrity" OR "Research integrity" OR "Scientific misconduct." Results indicate that 2020 was the most significant year, since the most videos (241) were posted in this year. The channels titled "PPIRCPSC, ABRIZAH A, and ALHOORI H" upload 10, 9, and 8 videos respectively, placing them in the first, second, and third positions. By analyzing viewer comments, it was determined that the majority of comments were favorable, indicating that viewers are generally pleased with the available videos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Clinical dishonesty is one of the components of academic dishonesty that deals with the unprofessional behavior of students in hospital and clinic environments (medical students, nursing students, etc.). Psychological distress and low moral intelligence among students can be known as predisposing factors in performing dishonest clinical behaviors. The present research addresses a gap in the scientific literature by investigating dishonest behavior among medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined medical students' clinical dishonesty, psychological distress, and moral intelligence. Rafati et al.'s questionnaire was used to investigate clinical dishonesty, Kessler's Psychological Distress Questionnaire (K6) was used for psychological distress, and Lenik and Keil's (2005) questionnaire was used to determine moral intelligence. Cochran's formula was used to calculate the sample size and the simple random sample (SRS) method was used for sampling. Data were statistically analyzed in SPSS version 27 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, United States). a P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: 317 medical students were included in this study, of which 176 (55.5%) were male and 141 (44.5%) were female. We found a direct and significant statistical correlation between clinical dishonesty and students' distress (Correlation Coefficient: 0.162, P-value < 0.001). In addition, there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between clinical dishonesty and moral intelligence (Correlation Coefficient: -0.241, P-value: 0.004). Moreover, there was a higher rate of clinical dishonesty among senior medical students (P-value < 0.001). Moreover, the most dishonest clinical behaviors are as follows: [1] Disclosure of patient information in public or with non-medical personnel (76%), Incorrect examination of vital signs and physical examinations (69.4%), Not reporting incidents or errors of others involving patients (41.6%). Conclusion: Finally, most students have experienced engaging in at least one clinically dishonest behavior. Such actions increase with the progress of the educational level so that it reaches its peak at the internship stage. Moral intelligence is a learnable concept, and mental distress also has its own treatments. Therefore, improving these two factors can reduce clinical dishonesty among medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions are increasingly employing algorithms to provide performance feedback to individuals by tracking productivity, conducting performance appraisals, and developing improvement plans, compared to traditional human managers. However, this shift has provoked considerable debate over the effectiveness and fairness of algorithmic feedback. This study investigates the effects of negative performance feedback (NPF) on the attitudes, cognition and behavior of medical researchers, comparing NPF from algorithms versus humans. Two scenario-based experimental studies were conducted with a total sample of 660 medical researchers (algorithm group: N1 = 411; human group: N2 = 249). Study 1 analyzes the differences in scientific misconduct, moral disengagement, and algorithmic attitudes between the two sources of NPF. The findings reveal that NPF from algorithms shows higher levels of moral disengagement, scientific misconduct, and negative attitudes towards algorithms compared to NPF from humans. Study 2, grounded in trait activation theory, investigates how NPF from algorithms triggers individual's egoism and algorithm aversion, potentially leading to moral disengagement and scientific misconduct. Results indicate that algorithm aversion triggers individuals' egoism, and their interaction enhances moral disengagement, which in turn leads to increased scientific misconduct among researchers. This relationship is also moderated by algorithmic transparency. The study concludes that while algorithms can streamline performance evaluations, they pose significant risks to scientific misconduct of researchers if not properly designed. These findings extend our understanding of NPF by highlighting the emotional and cognitive challenges algorithms face in decision-making processes, while also underscoring the importance of balancing technological efficiency with moral considerations to promote a healthy research environment. Moreover, managerial implications include integrating human oversight in algorithmic NPF processes and enhancing transparency and fairness to mitigate negative impacts on medical researchers' attitudes and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recruitment for successful health sciences research requires balancing efficiency, cost, accessibility, and reliability of available recruitment methods. Our case-control study used online recruitment methods, which broadened our reach to potential participants across the United States. However, this approach also exposed us to challenges associated with bot interference and fraudulent participation. This paper focuses on maintaining data integrity, specifically when utilizing online participant recruitment methods. Drawing from our experience, we propose The Swiss Cheese Model of Study Participant Fraud Prevention, adapted from Reason’s Swiss Cheese Model, and illustrate 10 prevention and verification measures that can be taken to minimize fraud in research studies that rely on online recruitment. We emphasize the importance of a layered approach, including carefully designed recruitment media and compensation protocols, vetting of participant eligibility, and data verification protocols to ensure the validity and reliability of research findings in the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of online research methods has expanded the scope of research globally and has made research more inclusive. However, it has also led to a surge in fraudulent research participation, with individuals and bots infiltrating studies for personal gain or disruption. This is of particular concern in mental health studies, as fraudulent responses jeopardize interventions and care efforts. This paper addresses these challenges, presenting case studies from psychological research. The urgent need for a comprehensive understanding of fraudulent responses in both quantitative and qualitative online research is emphasized, urging the research community to confront and mitigate this issue effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text discusses the history and dismantling of Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute (KUPRI) due to unauthorized use of research funds and academic forgery. The unauthorized use of funds by faculty members, including Tetsuro Matsuzawa, led to significant financial discrepancies and legal issues. The academic forgery by another faculty member, Nobuo Masataka, also contributed to the institute's closure. The restructuring of KUPRI resulted in the termination of faculty positions and programs, impacting the future of primatology in Japan. The closure has raised concerns about the welfare of the primates previously housed at KUPRI. [Extracted from the article]

This study examined mechanisms that influence romance fraud perpetrators' public display of affluence, an aspect of romance fraud research that has received little attention in the literature. The study collected data through semi‐structured interviews with eight offenders from two Ghanaian cybercrime hotbeds and three law enforcement officials, using a qualitative research approach based on the critical realist paradigm. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis, which revealed that the social environment, peer influence, links with high‐net‐worth individuals (upper structure clientelism), the involvement of social media and collaboration with some corrupt state officials all had a substantial influence on cybercriminals' public display of wealth. Furthermore, upper structure clientelism shows systemic flaws in financial institutions that must be addressed in order to reduce online romance fraud. The significance of social media in fostering public displays of wealth emphasises the importance of education and awareness initiatives as preventative measures. To effectively prevent online romance fraud, law enforcement should prioritise interagency cooperation and transparency among governmental institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we will describe the arguments to adopt a jurisprudence platform for scientific misconduct, we argue that this will increase the principle of legal certainty, improve procedures, and will promote scientific integrity in other, indirect ways. With the platform that we are currently setting up in the Netherlands as a motivating example, we finally also describe the prerequisites for such a platform, its contents as well as its value in the international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the historical use of modified-release (MR) opioids for acute pain management, particularly in Australia, despite the lack of evidence showing their superiority over immediate-release (IR) opioids. Recent guidelines in Australia recommend against initiating MR opioids for acute pain in opioid-naïve patients to reduce risks of in-hospital morbidity, mortality, and persistent post-discharge opioid use. The article emphasizes the importance of individualized titration of IR opioids for acute pain management to ensure safety and efficacy, highlighting the risks associated with MR opioids, such as less effective pain relief and increased adverse events. [Extracted from the article]

Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly transforming medical writing and publishing. This review article focuses on experimental evidence to provide a comprehensive overview of the current applications, challenges, and future implications of LLMs in various stages of academic research and publishing process. Global surveys reveal a high prevalence of LLM usage in scientific writing, with both potential benefits and challenges associated with its adoption. LLMs have been successfully applied in literature search, research design, writing assistance, quality assessment, citation generation, and data analysis. LLMs have also been used in peer review and publication processes, including manuscript screening, generating review comments, and identifying potential biases. To ensure the integrity and quality of scholarly work in the era of LLM-assisted research, responsible artificial intelligence (AI) use is crucial. Researchers should prioritize verifying the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated content, maintain transparency in the use of LLMs, and develop collaborative human-AI workflows. Reviewers should focus on higher-order reviewing skills and be aware of the potential use of LLMs in manuscripts. Editorial offices should develop clear policies and guidelines on AI use and foster open dialogue within the academic community. Future directions include addressing the limitations and biases of current LLMs, exploring innovative applications, and continuously updating policies and practices in response to technological advancements. Collaborative efforts among stakeholders are necessary to harness the transformative potential of LLMs while maintaining the integrity of medical writing and publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how the credit incentive to engage in questionable research practices (up to and including fraud) interacts with cumulative advantage, the process whereby high-status academics more easily increase their status than low-status academics. I use a mathematical model to highlight two dynamics that have not yet received much attention. First, because of cumulative advantage, questionable research practices may pay off over the course of an academic career even if they are not attractive at the level of individual publications. Second, because of the role of bottleneck moments in academic careers, questionable research practices may be selected for even if they do not provide a benefit in expectation. I also observe that within the model, the most successful academics are the most likely to have benefited from fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing sophistication of online survey tools and the necessity of distanced research during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of online questionnaires for research purposes has proliferated. Still, many researchers undertake online survey research without knowledge of the prevalence and likelihood of experiencing survey questionnaire fraud nor familiarity with measures used to identify fraud once it has occurred. This research note is based on the experience of researchers across four sites who implemented an online survey of families' experiences with COVID-19 in the U.S. that was subject to substantial fraud. By the end of data collection, over 70% of responses were flagged as fraudulent with duplicate IP addresses and concurrent start/end times representing the most common indicators of fraud observed. We offer lessons learned to illustrate the sophisticated nature of fraud in online research and the importance of multi-pronged strategies to detect and limit online survey questionnaire fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research integrity (RI) is defined as adherence to ethical principles, deontological duties, and professional standards necessary for responsible conduct of scientific research. Early training on RI, especially for early-career researchers, could be useful to help develop good standards of conduct and prevent research misconduct (RM). The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a training course on RI, by mapping the attitudes of early-career researchers on this topic through a questionnaire built upon the revised version of the Scientific Misconduct Questionnaire and administered to all participants at the beginning and at the end of the course. Results show that after the course, participants reporting a high understanding of the rules and procedures related to RM significantly increased (pre-course: 38.5%, post-course: 61.5%), together with the percentage of those reporting a lack of awareness on the extent of misconduct (pre-course: 46.2%, post-course: 69.2%), and of those who believe that the lack of research ethics consultation services strongly affects RM (pre-course: 15.4%, post-course: 61.5%). Early-career researchers agree on the importance to share with peers and superiors any ethical concern that may arise in research, and to create a work environment that fosters RI awareness. As a whole, results suggest the effectiveness of the course. Institutions should introduce RI training for early-career researchers, together with research methodology, integrity and ethics consultation services to support them. Senior scientists should promote RI into their research practices, and should stimulate engagement in peer-to-peer dialogue to develop good practices based on RI principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the impact of narratives on beliefs and policy opinions through a survey experiment that exposes US subjects to two media-based explanations of the causes of COVID-19. The Lab Narrative ascribes the pandemic to human error and scientific misconduct in a Chinese lab, and the Nature Narrative describes the natural causes of the virus. First, we find that both narratives influence individual beliefs about COVID-19 origins. More precisely, individual beliefs tend to be swayed in the direction of the version of the facts to which one is more exposed generating a potential source of polarization by exposure. Second, only the Nature Narrative unidirectionally affects policy opinions by increasing people's preferences toward climate protection and trust in science, therefore representing a channel for one-sided polarization by exposure. Finally, we also explore the existence of heterogeneous effects of our narratives, finding that the Lab Narrative leads to opinion polarization between Republican- and Democratic-leaning states on climate change and foreign trade. This indicates the existence of an additional channel that can lead policy opinions to diverge, which we denote polarization by social context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The primary objective of this inquiry was to explore the nexus between authorship attribution in medical literature and accountability for scientific impropriety while assessing the influence of authorial multiplicity on the severity of sanctions imposed. Methods: Probit regression models were employed to scrutinize the impact of authorship on assuming accountability for scientific misconduct, and unordered multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the influence of authorship and the number of bylines on the severity of punitive measures. Results: First authors and corresponding authors were significantly more likely to be liable for scientific misconduct than other authors and were more likely to be penalized particularly severely. Furthermore, a negative correlation was observed between the number of authors' affiliations and the severity of punitive measures. Conclusion: Authorship exerts a pronounced influence on the attribution of accountability in scientific research misconduct, particularly evident in the heightened risk of severe penalties confronting first and corresponding authors owing to their principal roles. Hence, scientific research institutions and journals must delineate authorship specifications meticulously, ascertain authors' contributions judiciously, bolster initiatives aimed at fostering scientific research integrity, and uphold an environment conducive for robust scientific inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Publication ethics aim to protect intellectual property rights, ensure the originality of research work, and avoid plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. This study employed bibliometric methods to systematically research the field of publication ethics from 1972–2022; 659 articles on publication ethics were identified. This study included 1336 authors from 762 institutions in 67 countries. Publication ethics in biomedical journals are receiving increasing attention. Misconduct in scientific publishing remains a prominent theme, indicating ongoing development in the field. The literature highlights current research trends and emphasizes the need for increased collaboration among countries, authors, and institutions to enhance the quality and efficiency of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of previous research that has investigated retractions within the biomedical fields and assess their methodological quality. We searched three major electronic databases for articles on retractions within the biomedical field: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. In total, 162 articles were included in the analysis. We evaluated their methodological quality using the items of "a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews" (AMSTAR-2) checklist and the Cochrane guidance. The studies had been published in more than 20 biomedical disciplines or fields of investigation, and two-thirds were published after 2017. Concerning methodology, none of the studies fulfilled all the suggested items; five studies did not meet any of the suggested AMSTAR-2 categories or Cochrane guidelines. The most prevalent reported reasons for retraction were fraud and plagiarism (21.0%). In summary, there has been increasing interest in assessing the characteristics and impact of retractions in the biomedical sciences. The studies cited types of misconduct more often than honest errors as a major reason for retraction. The methodological quality of the existing studies in this area appears to be suboptimal. Future investigators should improve upon this, particularly in the quality of the data selection and extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researcher fraud is often easy and enticing in academic research, with little risk of detection. Cases of extensive fraud continue to occur. The amount of fraud that goes undetected is unknown and may be substantial. Three strategies for addressing researcher fraud are (a) retrospective investigations after allegations of fraud have been made, (b) sting operations that provide conclusive evidence of fraud as it occurs, and (c) data management practices that prevent the occurrence of fraud. Institutional and regulatory efforts to address researcher fraud have focused almost exclusively on the retrospective strategy. The retrospective approach is subject to controversy due to the limitations of posthoc evidence in science, the difficulty in establishing who actually committed the fraud in some cases, the application of a legal standard of evidence that is much lower than the usual standards of evidence in science, and the lack of legal expertise by scientists investigating fraud. The retrospective strategymay be reliably effective primarily in cases of extensive, careless fraud. Sting operations can overcome these limitations and controversies, but are not feasible in many situations. Data management practices that are effective at preventing researcher fraud and unintentional errors are well-established in clinical trials regulated by government agencies, but appear to be largely unknown or unimplemented in most academic research. Established data management practices include: archiving secure copies of the raw data, audit trails, restricted access to the data and data collection processes, software validation, quality control checks, blinding, preregistration of data processing and analysis programs, and research audits that directly address fraud. Current discussions about data management in academic research focus on sharing data with little attention to practices that prevent intentional and unintentional errors. A designation or badge such as error-controlled data management could be established to indicate research that was conducted with data management practices that effectively address intentional and unintentional errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In environmental science, it is necessary to accurately describe processes, methods and phenomena using established technical terms and jargon. Any significant deviation from such terms might leave readers and peers confused, while confusion can lead to misinterpretations, opening up the possibility of errors. During peer review and prior to publication in a peer-reviewed environmental journal, it is thus incumbent upon editors and peer reviewers, and to a lesser extent copy editors, to verify that terminology in a scientific paper is accurate. In this brief communication, 61 papers with cases of ‘tortured phrases’, which are terms that have-for some reason-come to replace established jargon, are described in indexed environmental literature, frequently in indexed journals that are generally associated with reputable publishers. Of the 61 papers, 13 have been retracted, suggesting an erosion of the papers’ integrity. Awareness of this phenomenon and these cases allows editors and peer reviewers of environmental journals to be more careful when screening and vetting submitted papers, but should also serve as a lesson for authors to be more careful when writing their papers, avoiding the temptation to automatically incorporate text that online text thesauruses may provide, or to use non-standard terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plagiarism is one of the most prevalent forms of misconduct in the academic scenario. In recent years, scientific misconduct and academic dishonesty have been in the focus of interest of the academic and scientific community. Objective Due to the rise in research work in academic institutions, its imperative that all who are involved in research should have knowledge about plagiarism. This is a cross-sectional survey study, done on medical students to find out their attitudes toward plagiarism. Materials and methods The study was conducted at RAK Medical and Health Sciences University (RAKMHSU), UAE, using Attitude toward Plagiarism (ATP) questionnaire. The participants were from MBBS 3, 4 and 5th years. After the ethical committee clearance, the questionnaire was implemented to students in their free time. The duration given for filling the questionnaire was about 5 to 10 mins. Results Response rate was 66% (N=169). Results revealed moderate scores for positive attitude questions, negative attitude questions, and subjective norms among the three years towards plagiarism. There was no significant difference between the years of study or gender of the students in the group scores. However, the attitude of year-3 students showed a significant positive correlation with year-5 students (p<0.05). Conclusion The result reflects that the students’ attitudes towards plagiarism are divided. The teaching of ethics should be a part of the curriculum and it should be reinforced with workshops and CMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined review articles in medical sciences and analyzed their citations of retracted Iranian papers. This was a quantitative and applied study using scientometrics and descriptive cross-sectional approaches. Review articles' citation trends of retracted studies were investigated using the quantitative method, and the status of the mentioned citations was determined using the descriptive method. The study population comprised 53 review studies that cited 28 retracted Iranian articles. The current study on review articles citing retracted papers revealed that most citations in 2019 were in the form of systematic reviews and meta-analyses by Iranian authors. These articles were occasionally published in journals with a high credibility and impact factor. Although the most frequent reasons for article retraction in the present study were scientific misconduct, most of the citing review articles did not mention this issue. Further research is required to determine the impact of referencing retracted articles on the results of review articles, especially systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomized clinical trials (RCTs), regarding the reasons for retraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retraction of scientific publications is an important check on scientific misconduct and serves to maintain the integrity of the scientific literature. The present study aims to examine the prevalence, trends, and characteristics of retracted spine literature across basic science and clinical spine literature. Multiple databases were queried for retracted papers relating to spine or spine surgery, between January 2000 and May 2023. Of 112,668 publications initially identified, 125 were ultimately included in the present study following screening by 2 independent reviewers. Journal of origin, reasons for retraction, date of publication, date of retraction, impact factor of journal, countries of research origin, and study design were collected for each included publication. Clinical studies were the most frequent type of retracted publication (n = 70). The most common reason for retraction was fraud (n = 58), followed by plagiarism (n = 22), and peer review process manipulation (n = 16). Impact factors ranged from 0.3 to 11.1 with a median of 3.75. Average months from publication to retraction across all studies was 37.5 months. The higher the journal impact factor, the longer the amount of time between publication and retraction (P = 0.01). China (n = 63) was the country of origin of more than half of all retracted spine publications. The rate of retractions has been increasing over the past 23 years, and clinical studies have been the most frequently retracted publication type. Clinicians treating disorders of the spine should be aware of these trends when relying on the clinical literature to inform their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Credit fraud is a common financial crime that causes significant economic losses to financial institutions. To address this issue, researchers have proposed various fraud detection methods. Recently, research on deep forests has opened up a new path for exploring deep models beyond neural networks. It combines the features of neural networks and ensemble learning, and has achieved good results in various fields. This paper mainly studies the application of deep forests to the field of fraud detection and proposes a distributed dense rotation deep forest algorithm (DRDF-spark) based on the improved RotBoost. The model has three main characteristics: firstly, it solves the problem of multi-granularity scanning due to the lack of spatial correlation in the data by introducing RotBoost. Secondly, Spark is used for parallel construction to improve the processing speed and efficiency of data. Thirdly, a pre-aggregation mechanism is added to the distributed algorithm to locally aggregate the statistical results of sub-forests in the same node in advance to improve communication efficiency. The experiments show that DRDF-spark performs better than deep forests and some mainstream ensemble learning algorithms on the fraud dataset in this paper, and the training speed is up to 3.53 times faster. Furthermore, if the number of nodes is further increased, the speedup ratio will continue to increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to systematically review over two decades of academic articles on romance fraud to provide a holistic insight into this crime and identify literature gaps. Design/methodology/approach: More than two decades of peer-reviewed academic journal articles from 2000 to 2023 were systematically reviewed using multiple search engines and databases for relevant papers, identified through searches of paper titles, keywords, abstracts and primary texts. Findings: The findings reveal 10 themes: i) the definitions and terminology of romance fraud; ii) romance fraud's impact on victims; iii) the profile of romance fraud criminals and victims; iv) romance fraud methods and techniques; v) why victims become susceptible to romance fraud; vi) the psychology of romance fraud criminals; vii) the links between romance fraud and other crimes; viii) the challenges of investigating romance fraud; ix) preventing romance fraud and protecting victims; and x) how romance fraud victims can be supported. Practical implications: The paper reveals implications regarding the future direction of policy and strategy to address the pervasive low reporting rates and narratives of shame bound with victims of this crime. Originality/value: Romance fraud is a serious crime against individuals with impacts beyond financial losses. Still, this fraud type is under-researched, and the literature lacks a holistic view of this crime. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first systematic literature review providing a holistic view of romance fraud. It combines evidence across the academic landscape to reveal the breadth and depth of the current work concerning romance fraud and identify gaps in the understanding of this fraud crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing and publishing scientific and rigorous work needs a high level of integrity and adherence to ethical guidelines. Several publications have been rejected by authentic journals as a result of not adhering to a deontological standpoint. This laxity has posed deadly repercussions to the beholder including ruining its institutional image in academic scholarship. Notwithstanding, numerous writers are acquainted with the consequences of not observing ethical standards in research and publication, yet in trying to put up their pieces of work get caught in the same quandary. Anchored on a thematically oriented review of literature, it was imperative to try to explain the key ethical misconduct bases in research and publication. To fulfil this quest many journal articles were analysed. It was found that numerous aspects form the basis for misconduct in research and publication including; the pressure to 'publish or perish', the limitation of mentorship and guidance programs, knowledge on research and publication, promotion and academic advancement, competition among colleagues, workload pressure, financial motives, pressure from individual morality, and the challenge of research culture. Consequently, it is imperative to note that to publish a scholarly piece of work, adhering to ethical standards is non-negotiable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section offers news briefs on nutrition as of November 2024. A survey by the International Food Information Council revealed the tipping point of the trustworthiness of food an nutrition science communications. Findings of research attribute people's different conclusions on the same topics to the illusion of information adequacy. A study analyzed the association between consumption of unprocessed red meat and all-case mortality.

The article presents an editorial focuses on the impact of article retractions on researchers' mental health, highlighting the stigma and discrimination that often follow such events. Topics include the role of retractions in maintaining scientific integrity, the psychological consequences faced by researchers, and proposed strategies for creating a more supportive academic environment.

The Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and Jinnah Sindh Medical University recently organized the Postgraduate Research Conference 2024, with the theme of "Transforming Research Through Digital Innovation." The conference included sessions on topics such as artificial intelligence, scientific fraud, and robotic surgery. Participants discussed the need for healthcare professionals and medical institutions to prioritize and judiciously use resources to promote research culture and scientific writing. They also emphasized the importance of workshops and training programs to improve research skills and reduce publication time. The conference aimed to encourage high-quality research and provide guidance to postgraduates and young faculty members. [Extracted from the article]

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed 2 modalities for teaching responsible conduct of research and human subjects protection (RCR/HSP) to surgical residents in Guatemala—an "off the shelf" online curriculum and a new in-person curriculum specific to the local context. METHODS: In 2018, 160 surgical residents in 3 large urban hospitals in Guatemala City completed 2 online programs in RCR/HSP. Residents in the intervention arm also completed 7 weeks of in-person training. Pre- and post-assessments tested awareness of key concepts with particular attention to international and Guatemalan research regulations. Group differences in matched (pre- and post-) mean scores were analyzed using t -tests. RESULTS: One hundred forty residents completed pre- and post-training assessments and were included in the analytic sample. Overall mean scores improved modestly from 52.7 to 58.7 points out of 100. Intervention-arm trainees reported greater confidence in recognizing ethical issues, understanding legal and ethical requirements for research, and identifying, reporting and avoiding scientific misconduct than control-arm trainees. CONCLUSION: Given the limited availability of RCR/HSP faculty, financial resources, and time in the surgical training schedule, the investigators recommend that academic authorities in Guatemala consider online training programs in RCR/HSP in all surgical residency programs as an affordable and scalable strategy to build ethical research skills in its surgical workforce. Investment in human resources to support in-person ethics education as a way to build self-efficacy in ethical decision-making should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

William Lawrence Tower's work on the evolution of the Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), documenting the environmental induction of mutation and speciation, made him a leading figure in experimental genetics during the first decade of the 20th century. His research program served as a model for other experimental evolution studies seeking to demonstrate the environmental modification of inheritance. Tower enjoyed the support of influential figures in the field, despite well-known problems that plagued Tower's earlier academic career. The validity of his genetic work, and other findings reported by Tower, were later challenged. The Tower affair illustrates how questionable and possibly fraudulent scientific practices can be tolerated to explore certain experimental directions and theoretical frameworks, particularly at the frontier of expanding disciplines. When needed, those explorations can be forestalled or extinguished by exploiting conspicuous vulnerabilities of rogue practitioners. In Tower's case, both unrefuted allegations of scientific misconduct and personal problems dissolved his institutional support, leading to a swift ouster from academic science. Tower's downfall discredited soft inheritance and neo-Lamarckian conceptions in the field of experimental genetics, facilitating the discipline's embrace of a hard inheritance model that featured a hereditary material resistant to environmental modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1931, Hermann J. Muller's postdoctoral student, George D. Snell (Nobel Prize recipient––1980) initiated research to replicate with mice Muller's X-ray-induced mutational findings with fruit flies. Snell failed to induce the two types of mutations of interest, based on fly data (sex-linked lethals/recessive visible mutations) even though the study was well designed, used large doses of X-rays, and was published in Genetics. These findings were never cited by Muller, and the Snell paper (Snell, Genetics 20:545–567, 1935) did not cite the 1927 Muller paper (Muller, Science 66:84, 1927). This situation raises questions concerning how Snell wrote the paper (e.g., ignoring the significance of not providing support for Muller's findings in a mammal). The question may be raised whether professional pressures were placed upon Snell to downplay the significance of his findings, which could have negatively impacted the career of Muller and the LNT theory. While Muller would receive worldwide attention, and receive the Nobel Prize in 1946 "for the discovery that mutations can be induced by X-rays," Snell's negative mutation data were almost entirely ignored by his contemporary and subsequent radiation genetics/mutation researchers. This raises questions concerning how the apparent lack of interest in Snell's negative findings helped Muller professionally, including his success in using his fruit fly data to influence hereditary and cancer risk assessment and to obtain the Nobel Prize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to improve the accuracy of detecting financial fraud in listed companies by applying various deep learning algorithms. First, we comprehensively reviewed the current state of research on financial fraud theory and identified 67 recognition features to create a new recognition indicator system. Then, we collected data samples of all A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2022, preprocessed them, and generated a basic dataset. To address the unbalanced dataset, we used the Borderline-SMOTE algorithm. Empirical analysis results show that this algorithm can significantly improve the recognition performance of the model. Finally, we conducted experiments on the new dataset using three types of deep learning algorithms. The results show that the model constructed using the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) algorithm has the best prediction performance, with an accuracy rate higher than that of the DCRN, autoencoder, and other models. In addition, the classification effects of all deep learning algorithms are better than basic models and ensemble models. This research provides a powerful tool for the regulatory authorities of listed companies, helping them more effectively monitor and prevent financial fraud. We have three innovations in this study: (1) Development of a comprehensive recognition indicator system with 67 features; (2) Utilization of the Borderline-SMOTE algorithm to handle data imbalance; (3) Demonstration of the superior performance of the LSTM algorithm compared to other deep learning, basic, and ensemble models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misconduct in science is often viewed and analyzed through the lenses of normative ethics and moral philosophy. However, notions and methods in the philosophy of science could also provide rather penetrative explanatory insights into the nature and causes of scientific misconduct. A brief illustration in this regard, using as examples the widely popular Popperian falsification and the Kuhnian scientific paradigm, is provided. In multiple areas of scientific research, failure to seek falsification in a Popperian manner constitutes a questionable research practice and could lead to "falsification" in the context of research misconduct. On the other hand, scientific misconduct is often facilitated by its perpetrators using the familiarity, expectations and confines of a Kuhnian paradigm to blend in fabricated data/results. A rudimentary application of these philosophical notions could be useful in our understanding of the nature and cause of research misconduct, and facilitate mitigation of the latter through educational means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The output of scholarly publications in scientific literature has increased exponentially in recent years. This increase in literature has been accompanied by an increase in retractions. Although some of these may be attributed to publishing errors, many are the result of unsavory research practices. The purposes of this study were to identify the number of retracted articles in nursing and reasons for the retractions, analyze the retraction notices, and determine the length of time for an article in nursing to be retracted. Design: This was an exploratory study. Methods: A search of PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Retraction Watch databases was conducted to identify retracted articles in nursing and their retraction notices. Results: Between 1997 and 2022, 123 articles published in the nursing literature were retracted. Ten different reasons for retraction were used to categorize these articles with one‐third of the retractions (n = 37, 30.1%) not specifying a reason. Sixty‐eight percent (n = 77) were retracted because of an actual or a potential ethical concern: duplicate publication, data issues, plagiarism, authorship issues, and copyright. Conclusion: Nurses rely on nursing‐specific scholarly literature as evidence for clinical decisions. The findings demonstrated that retractions are increasing within published nursing literature. In addition, it was evident that retraction notices do not prevent previously published work from being cited. This study addressed a gap in knowledge about article retractions specific to nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gatekeeping, or determining membership of your group, is crucial to science: the moniker 'scientific' is a stamp of epistemic quality or even authority. But gatekeeping in science is fraught with dangers. Gatekeepers must exclude bad science, science fraud and pseudoscience, while including the disagreeing viewpoints on which science thrives. This is a difficult tightrope, not least because gatekeeping is a human matter and can be influenced by biases such as groupthink. After spelling out these general tensions around gatekeeping in science, we shed light on them with a case study from psychology. This concerns whether academic psychologists rightly or wrongly classify the applied-psychology framework of NLP ('neuro-linguistic programming') as unscientific and even pseudoscientific. This example of gatekeeping is particularly instructive because both the NLP community and the psychology community, we argue, make legitimate but also illegitimate moves. This case gives rise to several general insights about gatekeeping in science more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Points: What is theoretical about ecological risk assessment? — Glenn SuterAn egregious example of scientific fraud — Glenn SuterMechanistic modeling of toxicity test data — Lawrence BarnthouseThe folly of outsmarting climate change — Richard J. WenningRegulating plastics pollution — Richard J. Wenning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]