Editors from health science journals across Canada are forming an association to promote ethical behaviour in research, peer review and editing.
At a November conference sponsored by CMAJ and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), editors from 22 peer-reviewed journals discussed ways to deal with issues of ethical and scientific misconduct, such as plagiarism and falsified data. Presently, when editors suspect an ethical impropriety they contact the body that sponsored the research. “But you often never hear from them again,” said Dr. Tony Reid, scientific editor of Canadian Family Physician and a strong supporter of the conference.
CMAJ Editor John Hoey says scientific misconduct is likely under-reported here. Countries with monitoring organizations report 1 or 2 incidents per million population, which means there are probably 30 to 60 cases per year in Canada. “We don't see nearly those numbers. If [Canada had] a similar structure, our numbers might increase.”
The editors attending the meeting agreed to form an independent organization to promote ethical behaviour in research and publishing and to develop educational resources for editors, peer reviewers and others. The organization's structure will be decided in the new year. Another 61 journal editors were unable to attend but plan to participate.
In the new year, an interim planning committee hopes to compile a database of case examples of unethical behaviour, provide guidelines for reporting misconduct, explore links to similar groups and provide help to editors facing ethical issues. A second meeting will be held in a year.
CMAJ will also devote part of its Web site to publication ethics, including minutes from the conference and online resources for editors and researchers.
Dr. Frank Davidoff, editor emeritus of the US-based Annals of Internal Medicine, said editors must be proactive and prevent misconduct instead of acting after the fact. He said prevention begins with education and fuller disclosure.
Dr. Alan Bernstein, president of the CIHR (CMAJ 2001;165[6]:786-8), said medical science risks losing public trust if it isn't “squeaky clean.”
“There's a hodgepodge of research ethics with different words used in different places. It's a mess for researchers and a hindrance for partners. Basically, it's a source of confusion.” Some countries already have ways to deal with ethical issues that arise in publishing. In the UK a group of medical editors formed a Committee on Publication Ethics in 1997. Journal editors interested in joining the new Canadian group can send an email to john.hoey@cma.ca.
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Barbara Sibbald
CMAJ