Rachael Lammey, Outreach Manager of the Member and Community Outreach Team at Crossref, and Council Member of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), gives a summary of the 13th EASE Conference, held in Strasbourg on 10-12 June 2016.

Recorded 6 July 2016 at a MedComms Networking event in Oxford. Produced by NetworkPharma.tv

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ABSTRACT:

The reliability and reproducibility of published results have been much questioned in recent years, and there have been high-level cases of ethics violations, and an increasing number of retractions for fraud. Editors are on the frontline of efforts to improve the reproducibility and reliability of published research. Hence the theme of 2016 the biennial EASE conference: ‘Scientific integrity: editors on the front line’.

In the opening talk, Luc Soler (IRCAD – the Institute for Research against Digestive Cancer, Strasbourg, France) explained how advances in technology are bringing about a revolution in minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgery using augmented reality imaging. IRCAD are leaders this field, and Luc’s team edits the videos IRCAD produce prior to their inclusion on its multiple-language training website for surgeons, WeBSurg.

In the plenary lecture, Lex Bouter, professor of methodology and integrity at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, talked about how the pressure to publish is contributing to ‘sloppy science’ – which is more common and therefore more important than fraud. We need more transparency in research, he concluded, so that its quality and rigour can be accurately judged. Later in the proceedings, Don Samulack, president of scientific editing services company, Editage, highlighted the rise in predatory author services and the importance of accreditation for legitimate service providers.

Many tools and resources are now available to help editors, authors and reviewers improve the reproducibility and reliability of published research, including various guidelines. Full details of the EASE 2016 conference presentations are available via the EASE website.

Written by Penny Gray, Freelance Medical Writer

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We are building a library of free webcasts, like this one, for the global MedComms Community and others at http://www.networkpharma.tv and we’d welcome your suggestions for new topics and speakers.

Full details of this MedComms Networking event are at http://medcommsnetworking.com/event75.html

Rachael’s presentation (PDF format) is at http://medcommsnetworking.com/presentations/lammey_02_060716.pdf

Rachael’s Linkedin page is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachaellammey/

More about the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) can be found at:

Web: http://www.ease.org.uk

Filming and technical direction by Mario Crispino, Freelance Cameraman & Editor

[For the avoidance of doubt: this video is intended to be freely accessible to all. Please feel free to share and use however you like. Cheers, Peter Llewellyn, Director NetworkPharma Ltd and Founder of the MedComms Networking Community activity at http://www.medcommsnetworking.com]