A new study looking at issues arising in publishing ethics, which journalists, editors of the arts, humanities and social sciences face, has highlighted that detecting plagiarism in letters submitted to a magazine The most serious issue they deal with is some who report on encounters with half of the editors.
Plagiarism and inclusivity highlighted in new study into arts, humanities and social sciences
The findings of this new research also suggest that remaining inclusive is the most prevalent issue they experience when addressing issues around language and incorporating quality barriers as global research output continues to grow.
The report is conducted by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), which provides leadership on publication ethics and provides numerous resources to support journal editors and publishers on all aspects of ethical issues in research publishing. The study was commissioned to address perceptions within COPE that members of the arts, humanities and social sciences may not consider COPE as relevant to them as science, technology, medical members.
This primary research project was the first COPE specifically focused on the arts, humanities and social science disciplines. The organization is looking to find out how magazine editors should extend their guidance; Something that is encouraging it is the use of these results by art editors, journalists in the humanities and social sciences.
Completed by more than 650 journal editors (not fully COPE members), the study revealed the following important findings:
- 64% of respondents faced issues addressing language and quality barriers, seeking to remain inclusive.
- 58% reported plagiarism as the most serious problem of detection, after which they committed fraud (44%) and fraud with data or image creation (31%).
- Recognizing and dealing with bias in peer reviewer comments was an issue for editors of 55% of journalists.
- Journal editors felt least confident in dealing with data and / or image creation issues (24%), fraudulent submissions (23%), and intellectual property and copyright issues (21%).
There were no significant differences in concerns reported by journal editors of various disciplines or regionally, suggesting that multiple issues are experienced in many disciplines within the arts, humanities, and social sciences. However, there was some evidence that editors of the Journal of Business, Finance and Economics were more likely to encounter or hear about publication ethics issues than other fields of study.
Following the results of the study, COPE worked with existing editors as well as existing or developing, new publications to create ethical guidance. The organization is encouraging magazine editors to make the most of COPE's resources available.
Commenting on the project, Depphoff, COPE President, said: "This research is part of the renewed commitment by COPE to increase the diversity of our services for all disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas.
"These findings provide important information about the specific resource requirements of our editors and publishers in the fields of many arts, humanities and social sciences.
"This study is consistent with a focus on topics in our North American seminar held earlier this year. In the coming months, we will continue to roll out discussion materials and resources, specifically focusing on issues in these areas Will focus. "
The research was designed with the support and support of Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group.
Tracy Roberts, publishing director of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Taylor & Francis, said: "As the world's largest publisher of arts, humanities and social science journals, we are faced by magazine editors in these areas and work. Understand the challenges of ethics. With editors and editorial boards, individual products conform to existing COPE guidance. Providing assistance on stools.
"However, we know that the arts, humanities and social sciences face challenges that differ in STM fields.
"It is because of these differences that we believe that supporting COPE in this study is incredibly valuable. Its findings are particularly important to gather an evidence-base for the development of further publication ethics guidance for these disciplines. Provide unique opportunities, while also providing. The foundation for more research in this important area. "