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Devriendt T, Shabani M, Borry P. Reward systems for cohort data sharing: An interview study with funding agencies. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282969. [PMID: 36961773 PMCID: PMC10038295 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Data infrastructures are being constructed to facilitate cohort data sharing. These infrastructures are anticipated to increase the rate of data sharing. However, the lack of data sharing has also been framed as being the consequence of the lack of reputational or financial incentives for sharing. Some initiatives try to confer value onto data sharing by making researchers' individual contributions to research visible (i.e., contributorship) or by quantifying the degree to which research data has been shared (e.g., data indicators). So far, the role of downstream evaluation and funding distribution systems for reputational incentives remains underexplored. This interview study documents the perspectives of members of funding agencies on, amongst other elements, incentives for data sharing. Funding agencies are adopting narrative CVs to encourage evaluation of diverse research outputs and display diversity in researchers' profiles. This was argued to diminish the focus on quantitative indicators of scientific productivity. Indicators related to open science dimensions may be reintroduced if they are fully developed. Shifts towards contributorship models for research outputs are seen as complementary to narrative review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thijs Devriendt
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Mahsa Shabani
- Faculty of Law and Criminology, METAMEDICA, UGent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Pascal Borry
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Jung CH, Boutros PC, Park DJ, Corcoran NM, Pope BJ, Hovens CM. Perish and publish: Dynamics of biomedical publications by deceased authors. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273783. [PMID: 36103484 PMCID: PMC9473445 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The question of whether it is appropriate to attribute authorship to deceased individuals of original studies in the biomedical literature is contentious. Authorship guidelines utilized by journals do not provide a clear consensus framework that is binding on those in the field. To guide and inform the implementation of authorship frameworks it would be useful to understand the extent of the practice in the scientific literature, but studies that have systematically quantified the prevalence of this phenomenon in the biomedical literature have not been performed to date. To address this issue, we quantified the prevalence of publications by deceased authors in the biomedical literature from the period 1990–2020. We screened 2,601,457 peer-reviewed papers from the full text Europe PubMed Central database. We applied natural language processing, stringent filtering and manual curation to identify a final set of 1,439 deceased authors. We then determined these authors published a total of 38,907 papers over their careers with 5,477 published after death. The number of deceased publications has been growing rapidly, a 146-fold increase since the year 2000. This rate of increase was still significant when accounting for the growing total number of publications and pool of authors. We found that more than 50% of deceased author papers were first submitted after the death of the author and that over 60% of these papers failed to acknowledge the deceased authors status. Most deceased authors published less than 10 papers after death but a small pool of 30 authors published significantly more. A pool of 266 authors published more than 90% of their total publications after death. Our analysis indicates that the attribution of deceased authorship in the literature is not an occasional occurrence but a burgeoning trend. A consensus framework to address authorship by deceased scientists is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chol-Hee Jung
- Melbourne Bioinformatics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Paul C. Boutros
- Department of Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
- Department of Urology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
- Institute for Precision Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Daniel J. Park
- Melbourne Bioinformatics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Niall M. Corcoran
- Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Urology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Urology, Western Health, Footscray, VIC, Australia
- University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Bernard J. Pope
- Melbourne Bioinformatics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Christopher M. Hovens
- Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Urology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- * E-mail:
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Devriendt T, Borry P, Shabani M. Credit and Recognition for Contributions to Data-Sharing Platforms Among Cohort Holders and Platform Developers in Europe: Interview Study. J Med Internet Res 2022; 24:e25983. [PMID: 35023849 PMCID: PMC8796038 DOI: 10.2196/25983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The European Commission is funding projects that aim to establish data-sharing platforms. These platforms are envisioned to enhance and facilitate the international sharing of cohort data. Nevertheless, broad data sharing may be restricted by the lack of adequate recognition for those who share data. Objective The aim of this study is to describe in depth the concerns about acquiring credit for data sharing within epidemiological research. Methods A total of 17 participants linked to European Union–funded data-sharing platforms were recruited for a semistructured interview. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results Interviewees argued that data sharing within international projects could challenge authorship guidelines in multiple ways. Some respondents considered that the acquisition of credit for articles with extensive author lists could be problematic in some instances, such as for junior researchers. In addition, universities may be critical of researchers who share data more often than leading research. Some considered that the evaluation system undervalues data generators and specialists. Respondents generally looked favorably upon alternatives to the current evaluation system to potentially ameliorate these issues. Conclusions The evaluation system might impede data sharing because it mainly focuses on first and last authorship and undervalues the contributor’s work. Further movement of crediting models toward contributorship could potentially address this issue. Appropriate crediting mechanisms that are better aligned with the way science ought to be conducted in the future need to be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thijs Devriendt
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pascal Borry
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Mahsa Shabani
- Metamedica, Faculty of Law and Criminology, UGent, Gent, Belgium
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Ding J, Liu C, Zheng Q, Cai W. A new method of co-author credit allocation based on contributor roles taxonomy: proof of concept and evaluation using papers published in PLOS ONE. Scientometrics 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11192-021-04075-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- Gert Helgesson
- Stockholm Centre for Healthcare Ethics (CHE), Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and EthicsKarolinska Institutet 171 77 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Stefan Eriksson
- Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics (CRB), Department of Public Health and Caring SciencesUppsala University 751 22 Uppsala Sweden
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Smith E, Master Z. Best Practice to Order Authors in Multi/Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Research Publications. Account Res 2017; 24:243-267. [PMID: 28128975 DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2017.1287567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Misunderstanding and disputes about authorship are commonplace among members of multi/interdisciplinary health research teams. If left unmanaged and unresolved, these conflicts can undermine knowledge sharing and collaboration, obscure accountability for research, and contribute to the incorrect attribution of credit. To mitigate these issues, certain researchers suggest quantitative authorship distributions schemes (e.g., point systems), while others wish to replace or minimize the importance of authorship by using "contributorship"-a system based on authors' self-reporting contributions. While both methods have advantages, we argue that authorship and contributorship will most likely continue to coexist for multiple ethical and practical reasons. In this article, we develop a five-step "best practice" that incorporates the distribution of both contributorship and authorship for multi/interdisciplinary research. This procedure involves continuous dialogue and the use of a detailed contributorship taxonomy ending with a declaration explaining contributorship, which is used to justify authorship order. Institutions can introduce this approach in responsible conduct of research training as it promotes greater fairness, trust, and collegiality among team members and ultimately reduces confusion and facilitates resolution of time-consuming disagreements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Smith
- a Bioethics Programs, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine , University of Montreal , Montreal , Canada.,b National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences , National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park , North Carolina , USA
| | - Zubin Master
- a Bioethics Programs, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine , University of Montreal , Montreal , Canada.,c Alden March Bioethics Institute , Albany Medical College , Albany , New York , USA
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