Research integrity and publication ethics are key to meaningful scientific literature. This is intended to generate reproducible research findings which can be generalised, and so improve clinical care and contribute to the creation of stronger health policies. Potential research integrity issues include, but are not limited to, lack of or inappropriate consent with therapeutic misperception, faulty research design including use of screening scales for diagnoses, misuse of statistics, not following published protocol, plagiarism (including self-plagiarism), not publishing negative trials, inaccurate referencing, the need for corrigendum or retraction etc. Around half of all registered clinical trials are never published, and the published half tend to overstate benefits and understate harms. Poor research design and methodology are rife, including inadequate scholarship, leading to needless or underpowered trials, and incorrect statistical techniques. Thus inaccurate aggregate findings may be disseminated and acted upon. Questionable Research Practices (QRPs) are common, including selective reporting, outcome switching, 'spinning', p-hacking, and other misdemeanours, because published research reflects more the criteria required to achieve publication than scientific accuracy. This session will include a report from the research integrity 'frontline' of the BJPsych Journals, detailing the latest issues and developments including real-life examples of investigations processed by the Journals' Research Integrity Group. We also will discuss other ongoing research integrity efforts and leave plenty of time for discussions with attendees.
Chair: Professor Kenneth R. Kaufman, MD, FRCPsych, DLAPA, FAES, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, USA, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Research integrity: bad...but getting better?
Dr William Lee, MBChB, MRCPsych, MSc, PhD, University of Exeter
Discussant
Professor Allan Young, MBChB, MPhil, PhD, FRCP, FRCPsych, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London
Professor Kenneth R. Kaufman, MD, FRCPsych, DLAPA, FAES, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, USA, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Professor Stephen Lawrie, Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Professor Kamaldeep Bhui CBE, University of Oxford
