Preprints in times of COVID19: the time is ripe for agreeing on terminology and good practices

Authors : Raffaella Ravinetto, Céline Caillet, Muhammad H. Zaman, Jerome Amir Singh, Philippe J. Guerin, Aasim Ahmad, Carlos E. Durán, Amar Jesani, Ana Palmero, Laura Merson, Peter W. Horby, E. Bottieau, Tammy Hoffmann, Paul N. Newton

Over recent years, the research community has been increasingly using preprint servers to share manuscripts that are not yet peer-reviewed. Even if it enables quick dissemination of research findings, this practice raises several challenges in publication ethics and integrity.

In particular, preprints have become an important source of information for stakeholders interested in COVID19 research developments, including traditional media, social media, and policy makers.

Despite caveats about their nature, many users can still confuse pre-prints with peer-reviewed manuscripts. If unconfirmed but already widely shared first-draft results later prove wrong or misinterpreted, it can be very difficult to “unlearn” what we thought was true. Complexity further increases if unconfirmed findings have been used to inform guidelines.

To help achieve a balance between early access to research findings and its negative consequences, we formulated five recommendations: (a) consensus should be sought on a term clearer than ‘pre-print’, such as ‘Unrefereed manuscript’, “Manuscript awaiting peer review” or ‘’Non-reviewed manuscript”; (b) Caveats about unrefereed manuscripts should be prominent on their first page, and each page should include a red watermark stating ‘Caution—Not Peer Reviewed’; (c) pre-print authors should certify that their manuscript will be submitted to a peer-review journal, and should regularly update the manuscript status; (d) high level consultations should be convened, to formulate clear principles and policies for the publication and dissemination of non-peer reviewed research results; (e) in the longer term, an international initiative to certify servers that comply with good practices could be envisaged.

URL : Preprints in times of COVID19: the time is ripe for agreeing on terminology and good practices

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00667-7

Bibliothèques universitaires et intégrité scientifique : quels apports, quelles limites ?

Auteur/Author : Mélissa Defond

L’intégrité scientifique est au coeur de la validité et de la qualité des productions scientifiques. Il s’agit d’un enjeu majeur du monde de la recherche, et un nombre croissant de dispositifs sont en place dans les universités françaises pour répondre aux défis qu’il pose.

Quelle est la place des bibliothèques universitaires dans ce monde de l’intégrité, qui semble si lié aux opérateurs de la recherche ? Que peuvent-elles apporter à la question de l’intégrité scientifique, et quelles sont les limites de leur intervention ?

Nous sommes actuellement à un moment crucial, avec de nombreuses occasions à saisir pour les bibliothèques universitaires afin de se faire une place dans une culture de l’intégrité.

URL : Bibliothèques universitaires et intégrité scientifique : quels apports, quelles limites ?

Alternative location : https://www.enssib.fr/bibliotheque-numerique/notices/68906-bibliotheques-universitaires-et-integrite-scientifique-quels-apports-quelles-limites

La tension entre la pratique de recherche et l’intégrité scientifique : l’exemple de l’activité bibliographique

Auteurs/Authors : Sophie Kennel, Elsa Poupardin

L’activité bibliographique des chercheurs va de la constitution d’une culture savante à l’enrichissement de la connaissance scientifique par la publication. Notre étude interroge le lien entre l’intégrité scientifique et les constituants de cette production scientifique.

Elle permet de situer les connaissances et les positionnements des chercheurs sur la question de l’intégrité scientifique et montre les tensions entre l’activité prescrite, induite et l’activité réelle de lecture et de citation des chercheurs souvent déterminée par les normes d’évaluation.

URL : https://lesenjeux.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/2018/04-Kennel-Poupardin/

Working Together to Reduce Plagiarism and Promote Academic Integrity: A Collaborative Initiative at Leicester

This staff student collaboration arose from a staff-led research project that examined the potential for an American-style honor code system to reduce plagiarism in higher education.

This system promotes the positive benefits of good scholarship, encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning and is based on a community of trust between staff and students. Students’ Union Education Officers, student course representatives and academic staff worked together to re-frame advice given to students on plagiarism in a more positive light.

This ongoing collaboration has resulted in joint recommendations from staff and students to the institution on how to reduce plagiarism and promote a culture of academic integrity.”

URL : https://lra.le.ac.uk/handle/2381/9108