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| Year : 2015 | Volume
: 26
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1 |
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| Scientific misconduct |
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SM Balaji
Executive Editor, Indian Journal of Dental Research, Director and Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon, Balaji Dental and Craniofacial Hospital, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018, Tamil Nadu, India
Click here for correspondence address and email
| Date of Web Publication | 11-May-2015 |
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How to cite this article:
Balaji S M. Scientific misconduct. Indian J Dent Res 2015;26:1 |
Of late, in several International STEM journals, attempts to affect the integrity of the peer review system were reported. [1] This is a cause of worry as our current system is also vulnerable to such system. However, our editorial board and editor have promised to be watchful and double check the authenticity of recommended reviewers if and when, they use a generic E-mail provider such as Gmail or yahoo based ones. I request all potential authors to follow the guidelines issued as well as to adhere to the World Association of Medical Editors and Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines as well. Hopefully, our peer review integrity would not be compromised by this system. The cause of the increasing scientific misconduct is worrisome and has to be tackled. [2]
These "false reviewers" are actually friends or ex-colleagues and even in some cases, authors themselves impersonate reviewers. This circle of false peer review has been reported in early 2014 and subsequently several publishing houses have unearthed such issues from their systems. While, the blame game has started, some in STEM publishing blame the manuscript handling system while few others "pass the buck" to the editorial team. In honest view, all stakeholders are to share the blame including the system. The vast majority in the system - both from academic, industry and practice are honest while a very minuscule of them indulge in such practice for short term benefits, polluting and disgracing science on the longer run. [3] In this situation, the onus on preventing the success of such elements, the honest community faces the burden of being looked with suspicion as the editors and reviewers do not know when the corrupt elements intervene.
Hence, being on high alert is always required. Hopefully, this would not be faced among our fraternity.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Ferguson C, Marcus A, Oransky I. Publishing: The peer-review scam. Nature 2014;515:480-2.  |
| 2. | Kekre NS. Scientific misconduct - Why we must be careful. Indian J Urol 2012;28:247. [ PUBMED]  |
| 3. | Patel J. Who Reviews the Reviewers? Available from: http://www.blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2014/11/26/who-reviews-the-reviewers/. [Last accessed on 2015 Jan 15]. |
Correspondence Address:
S M Balaji
Executive Editor, Indian Journal of Dental Research, Director and Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon, Balaji Dental and Craniofacial Hospital, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018, Tamil Nadu
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0970-9290.156785
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