Abstract
Several national and international organizations have recommended policies regarding journal responsibilities about research misconduct in submitted or published manuscripts. A search of Web sites of the fifty highest impact journals in a cluster of biomedical fields and a limited survey of their editors shows that few journals have formally adopted standards for dealing with questions of research misconduct. Publicly available policies may have a deterrent effect and can prevent arbitrariness in handling cases.
Notes
∗Barbara K. Redman designed the study, collected and analyzed data, and wrote and edited the article. Jon F. Merz designed the study and wrote and edited the study.
∗∗Disclosure: There are no financial or personal conflicts of interest associated with this article.
∗Journals with the highest impact factors in the 2003 Journal Citation Report Science Edition were selected from the following medical categories: Allergy; Anatomy & Morphology; Anesthesiology; Behavioral Sciences; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Biology; Biophysics; Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems; Cell Biology; Clinical Neurology; Critical Care Medicine; Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine; Dermatology; Developmental Biology; Emergency Medicine; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Gastroenterology & Hepatology; Genetics & Heredity; Geriatrics & Gerontology; Health Care Sciences & Services; Hematology; Immunology; Infectious Diseases; Integrative & Complementary Medicine; Medical Ethics; Medical Informatics; Medical Laboratory Technology; Medicine, General & Internal; Medicine, Research & Experimental; Microbiology; Multidisciplinary Sciences; Neuroimaging; Neurosciences; Nursing; Nutrition & Dietetics; Obstetrics & Gynecology; Oncology; Ophthalmology; Orthopedics; Otorhinolaryngology; Pediatrics; Peripheral Vascular Disease; Pharmacology & Pharmacy; Physiology; Psychiatry; Psychology; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging; Rehabilitation; Reproductive Biology; Respiratory System; Rheumatology; Sport Sciences; Substance Abuse; Surgery; Toxicology; Transplantation; Tropical Medicine; Urology & Nephrology; Virology; Zoology.
∗Journals with the highest impact factors in the 2003 Journal Citation Report Science Edition were selected from the following medical categories: Allergy; Anatomy & Morphology; Anesthesiology; Behavioral Sciences; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Biology; Biophysics; Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems; Cell Biology; Clinical Neurology; Critical Care Medicine; Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine; Dermatology; Developmental Biology; Emergency Medicine; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Gastroenterology & Hepatology; Genetics & Heredity; Geriatrics & Gerontology; Health Care Sciences & Services; Hematology; Immunology; Infectious Diseases; Integrative & Complementary Medicine; Medical Ethics; Medical Informatics; Medical Laboratory Technology; Medicine, General & Internal; Medicine, Research & Experimental; Microbiology; Multidisciplinary Sciences; Neuroimaging; Neurosciences; Nursing; Nutrition & Dietetics; Obstetrics & Gynecology; Oncology; Ophthalmology; Orthopedics; Otorhinolaryngology; Pediatrics; Peripheral Vascular Disease; Pharmacology & Pharmacy; Physiology; Psychiatry; Psychology; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging; Rehabilitation; Reproductive Biology; Respiratory System; Rheumatology; Sport Sciences; Substance Abuse; Surgery; Toxicology; Transplantation; Tropical Medicine; Urology & Nephrology; Virology; Zoology.
42 CFR, Section 93.103(2006)