Multiple Voices on Authorship and Authority in Biomedical Publications

Main Article Content

Lisa M. DeTora
Sabina Alam
Leslie Citrome
J. Britt Holbrook
Catherine Skobe
Tanya Stezhka
Dikran Toroser

Abstract

The intersection of industry sponsorship, government regulation, academic interests, and medical journals is a core interest in biomedical research, and one that overlaps with concerns in the rhetoric of health and medicine (RHM). At stake in conversations about this intersection are authority and participation: who is and is not invited to offer opinions and, even when invited, whose opinions are taken seriously. Following, colleagues with ties to the International Society of Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) present their ideas in response to questions about authorship and authority posed by another, who is also an RHM scholar. The answers of medical journal editors and publications professionals employed by corporate entities largely align with the view that both authorship and authority should be determined by scientific practice and knowledge rather than power relations or politics. A philosopher who gave an invited plenary talk at the national ISMPP meeting and participated in the organization’s first white paper offers a different perspective, considering the ways that fields self-constitute in part by bounding authority and authorship.

Article Details

Section
Dialogues
Author Biographies

Lisa M. DeTora, Hofstra University

Lisa DeTora is an Associate Professor and Director of STEM Writing at Hofstra University.

Sabina Alam, Taylor and Francis

Sabina Alam is the Director of Publishing Ethics and Integrity at Taylor and Francis.

Leslie Citrome, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY

Les Citrome is the editor emeritus of The International Journal of Clinical Practice and a clinical professor of psychiatry.

J. Britt Holbrook, New Jersey Institute of Technology

J. Britt Holbrook is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the New Jersey Institute of Technology

Catherine Skobe, Pfizer

Catherine Skobe is a Senior Director of Publications Innovative Solutions at Pfizer, Inc.

Tanya Stezhka, Taylor and Francis

At the time of writing, Tanya Stezhka was a senior editor at Taylor and Francis, where she had oversight responsibility for several journals, including Current Medical Research and Opinion and Postgraduate Medicine.

Dikran Toroser, Amgen

At the time of writing, Dikran Toroser was a publication planning lead at Amgen.

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