Integrity, ethics, peer review

Question 1

Who is a scientist?

Answer 1

Someone who systemically uses research and gathers evidence, makes a hypothesis, and gains and shares knowledge

Question 2

What is the responsibility of a scientist?

Answer 2

To share the knowledge they gain

Question 3

What are 5 forms of scientific dissemination for a scientific audience?

Answer 3

• posters
• presentations
• peer-reviewed paper publications
• books
• grant applications + follow-up reports

Question 4

What are 5 forms of scientific dissemination for the general population?

Answer 4

• news articles
• magazines
• social media
• blogs
• podcasts

Question 5

What is the gold standard of scientific dissemination?

Answer 5

Peer reviewed journal publications

Question 6

What are the 4 points that researchers consider when choosing a journal to publish in?

Answer 6

• Has a history of publishing in their topic area
• Good reputation
• If the journal is more niche and focused on a particular topic, or if its more general
• A journal that their target audience will read

Question 7

What are 5 criteria for choosing a reviewer for a peer review?

Answer 7

• Enough expertise to judge rigorously and fairly
• Blind or double blind review
• Able to give constructive criticism
• No conflicts of interest
• Expectations are reasonable for journal’s standards

Question 8

What are the 4 recommendations a peer reviewer can make after reviewing a paper?

Answer 8

• Good to publish
• Good to publish with minor revisions
• Major revisions and resubmission
• Rejection if poorly written or major experimental flaws are present

Question 9

Who makes the final decision in whether a paper gets published?

Answer 9

The editor of the journal

Question 10

Is a paper finished once it’s published?

Answer 10

No, now it’s been opened to the scrutiny of the broader scientific community

Question 11

What can happen if errors are detected in published papers?

Answer 11

People can publish letters outlining the mistakes and the authors can fix them. Rebuttals or retractions

Question 12

Why would a paper be retracted?

Answer 12

Serious issues with the experiments or data, scientific misconduct

Question 13

Why do more prestigious journals have higher retraction rates?

Answer 13

The journals are more heavily scrutinized, so errors are more likely to be detected

Question 14

Why is it important to never overemphasize the importance of a single paper?

Answer 14

The accumulation of knowledge is more important. Some evidence can get disputed later when better techniques come around

Question 15

What is a journal’s impact factor?

Answer 15

The frequency in which the average paper published in that journal has been cited in a year

Question 16

What effect does a journal’s impact factor have on its reputation?

Answer 16

How people will see the research published in it, and seriously they will take it

Question 17

What are the criticisms of using impact factors to measure a journal’s reputation?

Answer 17

• It’s a narrow view of scientific value

- A paper may not be cited very much because the topic isn’t that popular

Question 18

What is predatory publishing?

Answer 18

Journals that you pay to publish your research

Question 19

What does the order of the authors on a paper mean?

Answer 19

The first author did most of the experimental work. The last author is usually the head of the lab

Question 20

Why is the number of publications important for a researcher?

Answer 20

Determines if a PhD graduate can get a job, if a junior professor can get a promotion, receiving grants, attracting the attention of Grad and PhD students

Question 21

What is the publish or perish mindset?

Answer 21

The idea that you have no career if you can’t publish papers

Question 22

Why is the publish or perish mindset harmful?

Answer 22

Leads to desperation, which then leads to scientific misconduct to just make sure they have a career