[The issue of authorship and proliferation of scientific research].
In conducting scientific research, certain ethical standards must be applied, not only in the actual performance of the research, in particular the choice of appropriate methodology, but also in writing about science. Authorship is an important aspect of ethical standards in scientific writing. In this article, we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the most universally recognised guidelines for scientific authorship (i.e., those of the Vancouver Convention), in an attempt to contribute to resolving the recent debate on their presumed inapplicability. In addition to possible solutions to this problem, we provide indications regarding the closely related problem of the proliferation of scientific publications, which affects publication bias and contributes to the confusion surrounding the Impact Factor. Regardless of the specific solution adopted, it must be stressed that writing about science is an ethical decision.
Lattanzi
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A
Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma. lattanzi@iss.it
Morosini
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P
Traversa
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G
D001319:Authorship; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research / Q000592:standards*