Going Beyond Academic Integrity Might Broaden our Understanding of Plagiarism in Science Education: A Perspective from a Study in Brazil

ABSTRACT Fostering innovation and creativity is a priority in the science and education policy agenda of most countries, which have advocated that innovative minds and processes will boost scientific and economic growth. While our knowledge society has embraced this view, fostering creativity is among the major challenges faced by educators and policymakers. For example, plagiarism, which may be considered a form of imitation and repetition, is a global concern at schools and universities. However, most discussions focus on academic integrity, which, we believe, leaves some gaps in the approach to the problem. As part of an ongoing project on plagiarism, science and education policy, we show results from a survey sent to 143 high-school science teachers at one of the most highly regarded federal schools in Brazil. Among respondents (n=42), about 50% admit that students plagiarize in assignments. Additionally, many of these educators suggest that the way biology, chemistry and physics are taught at school stimulates more repetition than creativity. Our findings are consistent with the need for a broader perspective on plagiarism and with initiatives to stimulate creativity and critical thinking among students. Although we offer a perspective from Brazil, it may illuminate current discussions on plagiarism, particularly in emerging countries.

A Scopus-Based Analysis of Publication Activity in Kazakhstan from 2010 to 2015: Positive Trends, Concerns, and Possible Solutions

The article analyzes the publication activity of scientific authors from Kazakhstan based on Scopus and SCImago Journal & Country Rank data from 2010 to 2015. The number of indexed multidisciplinary and medical articles from the country has been steadily growing from 2011 onward and this can be due to the adoption of the new Law on Science in that year. Several regulatory legal acts have been issued in recent years aimed at improving the quality of local journals and the international recognition of academic degrees and titles. Publication activity of scientific authors from Kazakhstan was found to be higher than that from other countries in the Central Asian region. However, there are still many unresolved issues related to the English language barrier, lack of indexing status of local journals, and poor topical education on science writing and editing. As such, the number of articles published in 'predatory' journals remains sizable, and there are concerns over authors' negligence and plagiarism. The global solution to the discussed problems may be achieved by educating researchers, authors, reviewers, and editors.

O papel dos comitês de ética em pesquisa / The role of research ethics committees

Os comitês de ética em pesquisa são responsáveis pela avaliação ética dos projetos de pesquisa; ademais, devem informar e educar seus membros e a comunidade quanto a sua função no controle social. Para alguns pesquisadores, os comitês de ética são alvo de muitas críticas; todavia, na atualidade, são imprescindíveis no campo das pesquisas e publicações médicas. Os autores descreveram por meio de análise documental o funcionamento do sistema de comitês de ética em pesquisa, da Comissão Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa e da Rede Sarah de Hospitais de Reabilitação.

Research ethics committees are responsible for the ethical evaluation of research projects. Moreover, they must inform and educate their members and the community on their role in protecting the society. For some researchers, ethics committees are a target of criticism, although they are currently essential in the field of medical research and publications. The present study uses a documental analysis to describe the functioning of the research ethics committee system by focusing on the National Research Ethics Committee, Sarah Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals.

La autoría científica vista como un dilema ético en las publicaciones científicas / The scientific authorship view as an ethical dilemma in the scientific publications

Las publicaciones científicas datan del siglo 17, con la revista fracesa Journal de Savants y la inglesa The British Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, y esta forma de comunicación se volvió imprescindible para comunicar los hallazgos de la ciencia, experiencia que ha ido agigantándose a través de los años y a partir del siglo veinte con el crecimiento de todas las ramas de la ciencia, se incrementaron las publicaciones destinadas a estos fines.

[Plagiarism in medical papers]

The present article is a brief presentation of various aspects of scientific misconduct in medical papers. The best approach for prevention of scientific misconduct in medical journals is the application of accepted codes of publication ethics

Ética em publicações: algumas considerações / Ethics in publications: some considerations

O trabalho aborda a importância de debater questões éticas em nossa prática como psicoterapeutas e também em nossas publicações. É trazido um exemplo, retirado da literatura, que procura ilustrar inúmeras iolações éticas. Posteriormente, é estudada a ética especificamente em relação às publicações, sendo discutidos os aspectos éticos relacionados ao autor, ao leitor e ao editor

Evaluación bioética de trabajos de investigación en seres humanos publicados en América Latina y el Caribe / Biothical evaluation of research involving human subjects published in Latin America and the Caribbean

La mención explícita de requisitos bioéticos en publicaciones biomédicas que involucran seres humanos y la incorporación de criterios éticos en la evaluación de trabajos científicos fueron investigadas en una muestra de revistas de la Región de América Latina y el Caribe. Mediante un criterio de selección basado en indexación en bases MEDLINE y LILACS, obtención de texto completo y de instrucciones a los autores, entre otros, se identificó 41 revistas científicas, siendo revisados 625 artículos. Los resultados varían según se trate de ensayos conmedicamentos (177 artículos) o estudios clínicos de diagnóstico o tratamiento no farmacológico (448), existiendo mayor preocupación de los investigadores en el primer caso (49 por ciento señala consentimiento informado y 46 por ciento revisión por comité de ética) que en el segundo (32 por ciento indica obtener consentimiento y 27 por ciento revisión por comité). Además, se aprecia mayor cumplimiento de disposicioneséticas en los ensayos clínicos fase II y III que en los fase IV. El análisis de las instrucciones a los autores, demuestra que en las revistas revisadas la mayor preocupación de los editores se refiere al consentimientoinformado en las revistas indexadas en MEDLINE (50 por ciento pide ese requisito) y la aprobación por comité de ética en las indexadas en LILACS (en 43 por ciento se solicita). En general, el cumplimiento explícito de requisitos éticos llega como máximo al 50 por ciento y no hay referencias éticas en cerca del 45 por ciento de las publicaciones.