3. AUTHORSHIP, PUBLISHING AND APPLICATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS

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In publishing and application of research results, it is essential to consider the interests and rights related to authorship, intellectual property and acknowledgement of all the researchers and cooperation partners who have contributed to research. Research results can be applied for social or commercial purposes, including in contribution to support to innovation, development of teaching, patenting of inventions, cooperation with entrepreneurs and other parties outside the research community. The greater the number of people who have contributed to publishing and application of research results, the more essential it is to reach an agreement on these questions to avoid damage to mutual cooperation and reliability of research.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RESEARCHER

3.1 Who is the author of the research publication?

3.1.1 The author(s) of the research publication are the person or persons who have created the work and have been named as its author(s).

3.1.2 The researcher agrees on the authorship of the research publication with persons who contribute to the creation of the publication, generally presuming that they meet all the following criteria:

    "Substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work; or the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
    Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
    Final approval of the version to be published; AND
    Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved."(1)

3.1.3 The researcher can also agree on the authorship of the research on other principles if the contribution of each author is clearly identifiable and pointed out, and each author is individually responsible for his/her part.

3.1.4 The researcher discusses the attribution of authorship of the research publication, the sequence of authors and other questions related to publishing with all colleagues and partners who contribute to the research.

3.1.5 The researcher coordinates the changes made in the manuscript with all the other authors.

3.1.6 The researcher has the right to withdraw authorship if s/he does not agree with some part of research or is not willing to be responsible for the content of the whole publication. Nonetheless, his/her essential contribution should be mentioned, if possible, e.g., in acknowledgements.

3.2 How to acknowledge the contribution of third persons to research publications?

3.2.1 In the publication, the researcher acknowledges the persons who do not meet the criteria of authorship but who have contributed to the conduct of research and completion of the research publication, and notes their role and contribution.

3.2.2 The researcher does not use authorship in exchange for data, use of equipment or any other benefits.

3.2.3 The researcher publicises the financers and supporters of research, restrictions to the research and other information that can influence the reliability of research.

3.3 What should be considered when publishing research results?

3.3.1 The researcher is responsible for the up-to-date, precise, honest and transparent presentation of research results and data.

3.3.2 The researcher refers accurately to his/her own and other researchers’ earlier published and unpublished works according to the conventions of the research area and instructions of the research institution, publication or publisher.

3.3.3 The researcher publicises the repeated use of the same data, interpretation or results in more than one publication, referring to the earlier place of publication.

3.3.4 The researcher also seeks the publication of negative research results to save resources and to avoid needless repetition of research.

3.3.5 The researcher informs the publication or the publisher about errors discovered after publishing. In the case of essential shortcomings, the researcher applies for the retraction of the publication.

3.4 Which recommendations and restrictions should be considered at publishing?

3.4.1 The researcher avoids publishing in a publication if doubts emerge about the reliability of the publication or the publisher or the quality of pre-reviewing.

3.4.2 If other conditions are equal, the researcher prefers open-access journals.

3.4.3 The researcher takes care that scholarly thinking and published research results would reach the broad public and, if necessary, cooperates with parties outside the research community to popularise research.

3.5 What should be considered in the reviewing process?

3.5.1 The reviewer ensures the quality, impartiality and timeliness of reviewing and keeps the research results that have become known to him/her confidential until their publication.

3.5.2 The reviewer does not use his/her position for imposing his/her own research results and publications on the author with the aim to increase citability.

3.5.3 The author of the research publication does not simultaneously submit the same article to several journals for reviewing and publication.

3.5.4 If the research publisher has forwarded the reviewers’ feedback and proposals for corrections and promised to publish the corrected publication, the author of the research publication does not change the publisher.

3.6 What is the responsibility of the researcher for the application of research results?

3.6.1 The researcher considers it essential that his/her research results would find socially beneficial application.

3.6.2 The researcher is open for cooperation with other parties to present the possibilities for application of research results and participates in this process if possible.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RESEARCH INSTITUTION

3.7 How to support research integrity in publishing?

3.7.1 The research institution supports honest, fair and transparent attribution and acknowledgement of authorship by necessary instructions and training.

3.7.2 The research enables to contest authorship and ensures the confidentiality and impartiality of settling of disputes.

3.7.3 The research institution informs researchers about potential threats and gives instructions how to assess the reliability and quality of research journals and publishers.

3.7.4 The research institution provides training and facilities (e.g. plagiarism detector software) for avoiding misconduct and ascertaining it, and supports dealing with such cases.

3.7.5 The research institution encourages researchers to inform about errors discovered later and to correct their errors.

3.7.6 The research institution acknowledges and supports researchers and appreciates the contribution of researchers who popularise their speciality or help to solve problems of social significance.

(1) The criteria have been quoted from the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. (2016) http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/… (accessed 24 October 2017).

 

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