Abstract
Reporting of research in a scientific paper should be objective and transparent and thereby clearly convey to the readers the relevant information about the research study conducted. The most basic requirement is that results need to be reported in a clear, truthful and unambiguous manner. But the responsibility of authors goes beyond the reporting of correct results and the detailed description of the methodology used to reach such results: it includes, amongst other issues, the questions of authorship and critically, in research involving human participants, consent.
Authorship
A series of questions need to be clarified in order to set the correct framework for writing a scientific paper. When results are presented from a collaborative project – which is often the case in our discipline – one needs to first decide who merits authorship and second, in which order co-authors should appear. As outlined in the Instructions for Authors, Prosthetics and Orthotics International defines merit of authorship as the substantial contribution of a person towards the project. In other words, each author should have contributed sufficiently to be able to take public responsibility for the work presented. Substantial contributions include: conception and design, data acquisition, data analysis and interpretation, drafting of the manuscript and/or critical review with regard to its intellectual content. All other contributions should be listed in the acknowledgement section, including funding resources. Please note that participation in data acquisition alone does not justify authorship, nor does general supervision of the research group.
The order of the authors should be based on a joint decision of all co-authors involved. It should be noted that the orders of authors vary considerably between disciplines. In our field, however, authors are typically listed in order of their degree of involvement and thus the listing usually starts with the name of the person most involved.
Informed consent
Authors must ensure that informed consent has been sought prior to reporting results based on human participants and – depending on local ethical legislation – indeed prior to any study commencement. Generally, ethical regulations include rules regarding experimental conduct and the use and storage of data (including photographs). We understand that local differences in ethical regulations exist. This adds complexity because what is common and normal practice at one site may require a totally different legislative approach at another. It is therefore important that authors include – within the text of their manuscript – a description of the local ethical regulations in regard to the particular research study reported and attest to whether these regulations have been met. Failure to do so could potentially lead to legal actions against authors as scientific journals normally transfer their responsibility in this regard. Prosthetics and Orthotics International is no exception. Please note that in the Instructions for Authors a statement legally binds the authors (rather than the journal) to the responsibility of seeking permission and consent.
Although less obvious than in a research context, the same standards apply to the reporting of information on courses, classes, events and activities. If humans are depicted and their photographs included in a manuscript submitted to a scientific journal, consent to use the images is required. Organizers of educational courses, classes, events and activities need to ensure that appropriate consent is obtained before using course participants. In educational courses, in particular, it is too easily forgotten that photographs are taken in order to enhance personal notes. Even if photographs are not intended for publication, event organisers should inform course attendees regarding local policy on taking and subsequent usage of photographs.
We sincerely appreciate the efforts of authors to adhere to these regulations and hope that with this reminder, we were able to clarify matters.
Associated Editors
Deirdre Desmond, PhD
Laurence Kenney, PhD
Dick Plettenburg, PhD