Ethics in scientific writing – More than just avoiding plagiarism

The validity and reliability of any article is directly linked to the ethics of its writers. When ethical lapses occur, they not only tarnish the authors’ reputation but can mislead clinical practice, misdirect research funding, and ultimately affect patient care.

When we talk about ethics in scientific writing, the most commonly talked about aspect is plagiarism. However, ethical writing extends far beyond this single concern. It also encompasses:

• Approvals – from the ethics committee for all studies involving human participants, even if retrospective or observational; and informed consents from the participants, as applicable.

• Data integrity – which includes data fabrication (inventing data), data falsification (manipulating results) and selective reporting.

• Authorship ethics – which involves listing only those who have made a substantial intellectual contribution, and avoiding ‘guest authorship’ (adding ‘big’ names for prestige); ‘gift authorship’ (adding names to oblige) and ‘ghost authorship’ (concealing actual contributors). Artificial intelligence (AI) cannot be listed as an author as it cannot be held accountable for intellectual content.

• Proper citation – by giving due credit to the original sources, even when paraphrasing.

• Transparent reporting – by accurately describing methods, limitations and conflicts of interest.

• Protection of participant privacy: The emergence of AI-assisted tools has not only brought opportunities for better scientific writing but also ethical dilemmas. AI can help with content creation, language, clarity and paraphrasing; however, it also introduces certain risks:

  • Lack of originality: Overreliance on AI can dilute an author’s own intellectual contribution.

  • Inaccurate content: AI may generate factually incorrect statements or fabricated references by way of their ‘hallucinations’.

  • Transparency issues: Failure to disclose AI assistance can mislead editors and readers about the origin of the text.

The ‘publish or perish’ culture, the competition for funds and grants and the mandatory publications required for promotional purposes, can all tempt towards non-ethical practices.^[1] In multicentric collaborations, authorship disputes can arise if the listing is unclear from the beginning. In sponsored research, data interpretation or presentation may be influenced. These realities highlight the fact that ethical writing is not only a personal virtue but a shared responsibility.

Research supervisors, editorial boards and peer reviewers also play a role in setting and maintaining ethical standards. Most journal guidelines now recommend that any use of AI should be declared in the manuscript, specifying the purpose of use, for example, language editing and content generation and that authors take full responsibility for the accuracy and originality of the work. Robust policies such as mandatory plagiarism check, conflict of interest declarations, disclosure regarding use of AI, adherence to reporting guidelines and necessary approvals and consents can further help to safeguard the integrity of scientific writing.^[2,3] Peer reviewers can also serve as an important line of defence against ethical concerns in manuscripts. Although their role is advisory, they can help to raise the red flag for the editors; the ultimate responsibility still lies with the authors.