Journal Article: “Transparency in Conducting and Reporting Research: A Survey of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors Across Scholarly Disciplines”

The article linked below was recently published by PLOS One.

Title

Transparency in Conducting and Reporting Research: A Survey of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors Across Scholarly Disciplines

Authors

Mario Malički
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

IJsbrand Jan Aalbersberg
Elsevier

Lex Bouter
Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam Amsterdam University Medical Centers

Adrian Mulligan
Elsevier

Gerben ter Riet
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Amsterdam University Medical Centers

Source PLOS ONE 18(3): e0270054

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270054

Abstract

Calls have been made for improving transparency in conducting and reporting research, improving work climates, and preventing detrimental research practices. To assess attitudes and practices regarding these topics, we sent a survey to authors, reviewers, and editors. We received 3,659 (4.9%) responses out of 74,749 delivered emails. We found no significant differences between authors’, reviewers’, and editors’ attitudes towards transparency in conducting and reporting research, or towards their perceptions of work climates. Undeserved authorship was perceived by all groups as the most prevalent detrimental research practice, while fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and not citing prior relevant research, were seen as more prevalent by editors than authors or reviewers. Overall, 20% of respondents admitted sacrificing the quality of their publications for quantity, and 14% reported that funders interfered in their study design or reporting. While survey respondents came from 126 different countries, due to the survey’s overall low response rate our results might not necessarily be generalizable. Nevertheless, results indicate that greater involvement of all stakeholders is needed to align actual practices with current recommendations.

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Filed under: Elsevier, News, PLOS