Ethics in publication

Abstract

In this review, various facets of scientific communication are explored from the ethics point of view and specific questions related to the relevant steps of producing a scientific publication are addressed. Firstly, a brief overview of the ethics concept is presented with its association to other moral directives such as traditions, law and conscience, while the intersections of logic and faith with the hypothetic boundary of ethics, are analyzed by using a Venn diagram. Secondly, the everchanging concept of scientific (co)authorship is evaluated according to the degree of intellectual contribution to the final outcome and a brief emphasis is placed on the importance of an urgent need for rapidly developing the ethical rules for electronic publication in cyberspace. And lastly, the characteristics of different forms of scientific misconduct are summarized.