Publish or Perish: The Ethics of Publishing in Peer-Reviewed Journals

This paper examines unethical behaviour in scientific publishing, in particular in peer-reviewed journals. This behaviour is a result of authors being subject to the publish or perish syndrome. The effect on the quality and quantity of literature is discussed with examples given of gift authorship, multiple publication, salami publication and fraud. Methods introduced by journals and academic institutions to combat unethical behaviour are explained.