How journals can help enforce research integrity
In the Nature Network discussion on 'repairing research integrity', David Lewis of the Georgia-Oklahoma Center for Reseach on the Environment, writes: "My feeling is that the only real hope of cleaning up the corruption of the scientific process that federal agencies have increasingly institutionalized and spread throughout academia lies with the editors of scientific journals. They are the Strait of Hormuz through which scientific information flows to the rest of the world". In an earlier comment in the forum, Dr Lewis wrote: "Every scientific institution that permits academic misconduct to invade its top management levels depends on science journals to publish their data and give their scientists credibility. Publishers and editors simply need to become better educated on how scientific misconduct gets institutionalized in government and academia and then develop effective ways to hold these institutions accountable when it is not corrected."
This discussion is taking place at the Nature Network Nature Opinion forum in the context of a Nature Commentary article on scientific misconduct. We welcome your views on Dr Lewis's proposition, at the Nature Network discussion, where you can read his startling account, or as a comment to this post.
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