Published online before print May 24, 2007

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(American Journal of Pathology. 2007;171:1.)
© 2007 American Society for Investigative Pathology
DOI: 10.2353/ajpath.2007.070458

Editorial

A Matter of Trust

Introducing the Journal Scientific Integrity Policy

Scientific publishing relies on the trust between a journal and its readership: trust that the experiments have been ethically performed and faithfully documented, that the research report has been carefully vetted by experts in the field, and that the publication process has been executed in a thoughtful and timely manner. Such ideals are not new to The American Journal of Pathology; we have always valued scientific and publishing integrity and have followed the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE¹ ). However, to provide greater transparency and accountability for our expectations of authors and reviewers, as well as to delineate what our authors and readers should expect from us, we have established a formal Journal Scientific Integrity Policy.²

This Policy covers authors, reviewers, Editors, and staff and includes clear definitions of what constitutes acceptable behavior and misconduct. The importance of disclosing conflicts of interest, whether financial or personal, and maintaining confidentiality is stressed, as both are critical to the blinded peer-review process. Further, reviewers, Editors, and staff are reminded to take their responsibilities seriously and to perform their duties in a timely manner. Authorship and contributor criteria are clearly defined, and we are undertaking the process of involving all coauthors to ensure full awareness of and full conflict disclosure for newly submitted manuscripts. Copyright is reiterated, especially in light of our affiliation with PubMed Central and our recent launch of fastPATH (pre-print publication). Importantly, the following issues relating to research misconduct are discussed: treatment of research subjects and animals, fabrication and falsification of data (including image manipulation), plagiarism, and redundant publication.

Of course, guidelines are useless without providing the appropriate means to report misconduct or explaining the procedures for handling complaints. Written complaints regarding authors, reviewers, and Editors are to be directed to the Editorial Office, and concerns regarding Journal staff are to be directed to the Executive Officer of the American Society for Investigative Pathology. The Policy outlines our procedures for handling allegations or findings of misconduct, as well as the possible repercussions.

Accompanying the Journal Scientific Integrity Policy are newly revised Instructions to Authors³ and Instructions to Reviewers.⁴ Editorial procedures are described to ensure better understanding of how various manuscript types, including solicited articles, are handled and reviewed. Definitions of Corrections, Retractions, and Notes of Concern are included in these descriptions. Manuscript preparation instructions now include more detailed instructions for preparing the Title, Abstract, and Materials and Methods. The Abstract word limit has been expanded to 220 words, allowing for enhanced summary of study details. Reviewers also have more explicit instructions on the editorial expectations for reviewing the scope, content, and quality of reviewed manuscripts.

The establishment of these written policies confirms the AJP’s commitment to ensuring trust in scientific research and publishing. And we are not alone in this quest: We are very grateful to the dedicated members of the ICMJE, the Council of Science Editors (which recently published the CSE White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications)⁵ and the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Research Integrity⁶ for carefully writing recommendations that strive to uphold ethics in the scientific process, from the conducting of research to the reporting of results. At AJP, we believe that our Journal Scientific Integrity Policy is the necessary next step to ensure our lasting success and reliability as well as to continue our relationship of trust between the Journal and its authors, reviewers, and readers.

References

1. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (ICMJE), http://www.icmje.org
2. AJP Journal Scientific Integrity Policy, http://ajp.amjpathol.org/misc/integrity.shtml
3. AJP Instructions to Authors, http://ajp.amjpathol.org/misc/ifora.shtml
4. AJP Instructions to Reviewers, http://ajp.amjpathol.org/misc/reviewer.shtml
5. CSE White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journals, http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/editorial_policies/white_paper.cfm
6. US DHHS (Office of Research Integrity), http://ori.dhhs.gov/

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This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ajpath.2007.070458v1 171/1/1    most recent Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by McDonald, J. M. Articles by Cox, A. E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by McDonald, J. M. Articles by Cox, A. E.