HSCI705 Discussion Ethical Code and Practices for Publication

Ethical code and practices for publication

Dr. Hanz should be the central figure in all of this, so it would make sense to add his name to the title page, regardless of whether he and others have contributed. That way, if others learn that they were left out of the paper and later read a different version, they will know whom to contact (Bonhoeffer, 2022). To avoid any issues down the road that might affect tenure or promotion, Dr. Hanz should send a “summary” letter to his former collaborators informing them that they have been included in the manuscript but do not need to send a copy back. If they received proofing copies, it might be safe not to return them, after all, it is their paper.

Whether Dr. Hanz should add other peoples' names or not, I think Dr. Hanz should add the names to the title page. If he informs others of the change, then it should not be an issue with tenure or promotion. Most people would probably forget that they helped read manuscript proofs. In most labs, they thank everyone who helped proofread and do not mention it as part of their contribution, although they receive credit in funding and acknowledgments in the papers.

The ethical ramifications of adding the names include a false representation of who wrote the paper. It also adds risk to Dr. Hanz since if the people find out, he could lose his current or future positions, and collaborators might be scared to work with him (Pearn,2020). If Dr. Hanz wants to keep his lab running smoothly, he should add the names but make sure that they do not find out that they were added later on, so they do not get upset. Another ethical ramification is that if Dr. Hanz were to add the names, it would be similar to plagiarism since he did not mention the collaborators in the acknowledgments. If he adds them, it might make others suspicious that their name was left out for a reason.

By their names being added, their careers could be impacted. If they were to lose their current positions, then Dr. Hanz could not ask for help in the future. If Dr. Hanz were to get in trouble, his lab group would be less likely to work with him, and he could lose funding and future collaborator possibilities. The authors' careers could be affected not just by their current positions but also by future ones. The authors' careers would be affected because if others find out they were left out, they could get upset and stop working with them altogether. If Dr. Hanz were to get into trouble with the publishing company or whoever, he could lose all of his current and future positions, and others might not want to work with him because he has a reputation for being dishonest. The authors' careers could even be affected by the amount of time it takes to publish their manuscript because if it takes longer, then other people might have published first, making them look bad.

The decision to add other people’s names would set a precedent for people. If other people find out that Dr. Hanz did not add them to the manuscript, he could be accused of lying to everyone in his lab group, and other people in their lab groups might have the same problem as him (Weinberg,2019). The decision to add other people’s names could make Dr. Hanz look like he is dishonest and a cheater, which could also make other lab groups less willing to work with him as they keep getting caught plagiarizing papers and not adding everyone who helped proofread. Adding others' names would set a precedence for future decisions regarding responsibilities, ethics, and conflicts between others within his lab group or even in future matters that could arise between Dr. Hanz and others.

References

Bonhoeffer, D. (2022). Ethics. Simon and Schuster.

Pearn, J. (2020). Publication: an ethical imperative. Bmj, 310(6990), 1313-1315.

Sammartino, N. K., O’Rourke, T. W., Pigg Jr, R. M., & Weinberg, A. D. (2019). Ethical issues in research and publication. Journal of School Health, 59(3), 101–104.