Scientific misconduct in infectious diseases-European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases survey


Tau N., AKOVA M., Barac A., Nasim A., Righi E., Yahav D.

CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, sa.11, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.cmi.2024.07.015
  • Dergi Adı: CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Environment Index, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, MEDLINE, Public Affairs Index, Veterinary Science Database
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and perception of scientific misconduct in infectious diseases (ID) and clinical microbiology (CM), as reported by the ID/CM community. Methods: An anonymous online European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases survey circulated among society members from October 2023 to June 2024; the questionnaire included data on participants' views on their own and their colleagues' scientific misconduct in the last 5 years. Results: The survey received 220 responses. Responders were 73% ID physicians, 52% men, 56% aged 35-54 years, and represented 48 countries, mainly European (126 participants). The vast majority of participants (78%) reported that they did not personally commit scientific misconduct, whereas 54% reported witnessing misconduct by colleagues in their field. The most commonly committed misconduct by both responders and their colleagues was misconduct of authorship rules, 14% and 41%, respectively. Overall, 18% reported witnessing misleading reporting and 14% reported witnessing nonaccurate reporting of conflict of interest. Nevertheless, the majority (>60%) of responders reported high confidence in the integrity of published work in the field of ID/CM. Approximately one-third of responders were not aware of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases ethics advisory committee as an authority to which members can report misconduct. Discussion: Scientific misconduct, mostly related to violation of authorship rules, seems to be common in ID/CM. Efforts to improve scientific integrity should be made to keep trust in the scientific process.