Cash puts publishing ethics at risk in China

Huggett, Sarah

doi:10.1038/490342c

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Publications from China have risen over the last several years [ 19 ], likely in part because Chinese scholars are required to publish in English language journals as part of their degree and/or promotion requirements [ 20 ]. There are often financial rewards for doing so [ 20 ] and the higher the impact factor of the journal the higher the cash incentive [ 21 ]. We noted an increase in submissions from China when GIM’s impact factor rose above 5 (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plagiarism in submitted manuscripts: incidence, characteristics and optimization of screening—case study in a major specialty medical journal

Higgins

Lin

2016

Res Integr Peer Rev

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BackgroundPlagiarism is common and threatens the integrity of the scientific literature. However, its detection is time consuming and difficult, presenting challenges to editors and publishers who are entrusted with ensuring the integrity of published literature.MethodsIn this study, the extent of plagiarism in manuscripts submitted to a major specialty medical journal was documented. We manually curated submitted manuscripts and deemed an article contained plagiarism if one sentence had 80 % of the words copied from another published paper. Commercial plagiarism detection software was utilized and its use was optimized.ResultsIn 400 consecutively submitted manuscripts, 17 % of submissions contained unacceptable levels of plagiarized material with 82 % of plagiarized manuscripts submitted from countries where English was not an official language. Using the most commonly employed commercial plagiarism detection software, sensitivity and specificity were studied with regard to the generated plagiarism score. The cutoff score maximizing both sensitivity and specificity was 15 % (sensitivity 84.8 % and specificity 80.5 %).ConclusionsPlagiarism was a common occurrence among manuscripts submitted for publication to a major American specialty medical journal and most manuscripts with plagiarized material were submitted from countries in which English was not an official language. The use of commercial plagiarism detection software can be optimized by selecting a cutoff score that reflects desired sensitivity and specificity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plagiarism in submitted manuscripts: incidence, characteristics and optimization of screening—case study in a major specialty medical journal

Higgins

Lin

2016

Res Integr Peer Rev

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“…Brazil has established a “Qualis” scale based on the average impact factor of their publications, which is used to grade students and faculty (23). China has been reported to offer monetary rewards to editors who increase the impact factors of their journals (24), and China, Turkey, and South Korea offer cash bonuses to scientists who publish in journals with high impact factors (25). …”

Section: Causes Of Impact Factor Maniamentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes for the Persistence of Impact Factor Mania

Casadevall

Fang

2014

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Numerous essays have addressed the misuse of the journal impact factor for judging the value of science, but the practice continues, primarily as a result of the actions of scientists themselves. This seemingly irrational behavior is referred to as “impact factor mania.” Although the literature on the impact factor is extensive, little has been written on the underlying causes of impact factor mania. In this perspective, we consider the reasons for the persistence of impact factor mania and its pernicious effects on science. We conclude that impact factor mania persists because it confers significant benefits to individual scientists and journals. Impact factor mania is a variation of the economic theory known as the “tragedy of the commons,” in which scientists act rationally in their own self-interests despite the detrimental consequences of their actions on the overall scientific enterprise. Various measures to reduce the influence of the impact factor are considered.

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