Stop misbehaving!

Navigating through the gray (and CMYK) areas of figure manipulation: rules at the JCI

“…Consistent with these rules, we also repeat an earlier published message: do not remove background noise or doublet bands (2). Even if you think the data are unaffected by removing this information, selective editing or changing of specific features is data manipulation and undermines confidence in your results.…”

“…If, in fact, we believe that the manipulations change the interpretation of the primary data, we reserve the right to revoke acceptance. As stated before, we work with research integrity officers at various institutions when an investigation into data quality is necessary (2).…”

What is Truth? Standards of Scientific Integrity in American Heart Association Journals

“…The Journal of Cell Biology and Journal of Clinical Investigation have published clear examples of how data may be manipulated using such software as Adobe Photoshop. 3,7 We provide here many of the same guidelines delineated in the aforementioned journals. Much of the material can be found in the Instructions to Authors in several of the AHA journals.…”

“…2 Some journals, such as Journal of Cell Biology, Nature, Nature Cell Biology, and Journal of Clinical Investigation, have already adopted tools and policies to assist in decreasing instances of scientific misconduct. [3][4][5][6][7][8] The AHA is sensitive to issues of scientific misconduct and, while recognizing that the process will necessarily be an evolving one, believes it is time some general guidelines for submitting manuscripts to each of the 11 AHAsponsored journals be delineated and shared with each journal's readership. Of note, much has already been formulated regarding AHA standards for falsification of scientific data, plagiarism, and scientific misconduct on various websites and in the Instructions for Authors.…”

Avoiding Twisted Pixels: Ethical Guidelines for the Appropriate Use and Manipulation of Scientific Digital Images

“…Despite the plea of an editorial in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that problem scientists “stop misbehaving” (Neill 2006), the high level of over-manipulated images reported by the JCB indicates an ignorance of the issues involved in working with digital images and of the seductive power of image-processing software. Since the vast majority of these cases do not meet the classification of fraud, it would appear that educating scientists is an important first step in changing the culture of “data beautification” (Nature Cell Biology Editorial 2006b).…”