Tag: research ethics
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Should we be worried about plagiarism in peer review?
Using plagiarism detection software, I compared the review reports to other published work and was shocked to find that two of the three reviews were highly similar to open peer review reports published in PeerJ and MDPI’s Sustainability. In fact, the reports were flagged as having a 40% and a 100% similarity to these previous…
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Early career research path: Walking in the jungle without a compass
I recently discovered that mapping a career path as a researcher is like walking through the jungle. Some forests have beautiful roads adorned with scenic views, and even have a convenience store. But others, well, they are jungles – no roads just a plain old fashioned jungle. A few weeks before my wedding, my brother…
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Good Research Ethics Will Make You A Better Scientist
Besides a handful online classes, I have never taken a formal class in research ethics. And I think that’s a serious bummer. I believe graduate schools should offer formal classes in research ethics, especially students pursuing a career in natural sciences.
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5 Things I Learned After Publishing In A Predatory Journal
Like thousands of young African researchers, I am a victim of a predatory journal. I published my first research paper in a predatory journal. I was young, I was ignorant and I was looking for validation. And a predatory journal took advantage of all of this.
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Citation Censure: When your peers don’t cite your research
There’s nothing more painful than watching your child getting rejected. A few years ago, I took my son to an on-campus early childhood education center. While I was signing him in, he walked up to a classmate and asked her if he could be her friend, “I’m sorry, Tino. I already have a friend.” My…
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5 Reasons you should probably just say no to a peer review request
You probably agree that the peer review system is broken. Several ideas have been proposed to fix the system. Some journals tried double blind peer reviewing and others experimented with open peer review. However, I think these proposals are like putting a Bandaid over a cancerous wound because they don’t really address the root cause…
The African Scientist 