Publication Ethics: What Next?

Abstract

The recent report on "publication ethics" is very interesting [1]. Wager noted that "If people believe that publication ethics is 'somebody else's problem', little progress will be made and problems will persist [1]." As Polenakovic and Gucev noted, the problem of scientific misconduct is the current problem to be dealt [2]. It is no doubt that all standard and qualified scientific journals declare their policies against unethical practice and misconduct. However, there are still existing problems. As noted by Wager, it should be the role of everyone in the process to combat misconduct. Nevertheless, while a group of scientific personnel act against the problem, the other might neglect (do nothing) or support the bad practice. Surprisingly, there are many plagiarists or impostors who hold high positions in organization that are not managed [3]. For sure, high position might imply seniority and power and few persons dear to point out and manage the problem [3]. Also, there are several unqualified publishers who support the unethical publication such as predatory journals which focus only on income (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Predatory_open_access_publishing). How, to promote the brave mind of the scientific community to fight and sanction the emerging unethical practice should be the way to reach the future transparency and ethical publication practice.