{"id":3936,"date":"2022-06-15T04:57:31","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T04:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/image-manipulation-whats-okay-and-not-okay-and-who-addresses-it\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T12:05:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T06:35:22","slug":"image-manipulation-whats-okay-and-not-okay-and-who-addresses-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/image-manipulation-whats-okay-and-not-okay-and-who-addresses-it","title":{"rendered":"Image manipulation: What\u2019s okay and not okay and who addresses it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Images are data used by researchers to explain their results and make evidence-based scientific claims. A good-quality image boosts the chances of manuscript acceptance. Thus, an image needs to be submitted in its original, yet presentable form per publication requirements.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Researchers often make minor tweaks to get a best representative image that can help readers interpret it easily. Such simple alterations are standard practice but may be a bit tricky. Making images attractive to catch the eye of the reader may lead researchers to introduce inappropriate changes. Inappropriate image manipulation is a serious issue that plagues the integrity of scientific publishing. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><b><span style=\"color: #222222;\">What can prompt inappropriate image manipulation?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><\/h2>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Making inappropriate changes to images may be either unintentional or intentional. Here are some reasons why researchers may do this:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">They may not appreciate the importance of acquiring good images. The confidence and thrill of a conducting successful experiment may lead them to neglect the value of high-quality images.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">They lack the knowledge or experience needed to capture publication-quality images.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">They may be impatient. For example, sitting for too long with a microscope may feel tiresome, which may lead to sloppiness.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">They may be reluctant to repeat an experiment to capture a better picture. This happens when the researchers are sure about the validity of their data. Convinced that their work is flawless and conducted with honesty, researchers may consider minor amendments to the figure as ethical.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">They may intentionally resort to unethical image manipulation to mislead readers about the research results and overstate the importance of insubstantial data. They may be tempted to indulge in this type of scientific misconduct because of the pressure to publish in high\u2013impact-factor journals or the lack of reliable data to support their findings.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><b><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Which types of changes to images are acceptable?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Some changes that that can be safely opted for include the following:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Simple magnification<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Image cropping<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Partial use of brightness and contrast features, only if such adjustments are<i> applied to the whole image<\/i> and do not enhance certain sections over others<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Use of arrows\/boxes to direct the attention of readers to a specific part of an image<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Image resizing as long as there is no pixel distortion<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><b><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Which types of changes to images are <i>not<\/i> acceptable?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Even seemingly minor adjustments that do not affect the interpretation of results may be considered unacceptable in some cases. Some examples include the following:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Sharpening and over-saturating images<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Changing black and white (gray scale) to color (RGB)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Reusing or cloning \u00a0a part of an image to fit with another image panel<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Stitching pictures from two different images obtained from a duplicate set of the same experiment and not declaring it: for example, stitching the negative control from one gel picture with the main picture of another gel<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Eliminating background fluorescence in an image of a fluorescently labelled sample and not declaring this<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Manipulating an image to present data or information originally not observed amounts to grave scientific misconduct and may attract punitive actions against researchers and institutes. Per the guidelines of the Council for Science Editors, \u201cNo specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">The practice of producing fake image data may be more common in disciplines such as developmental biology, molecular biology, cell biology, and biomedical sciences. Examples of such unethical changes include the following:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Using Photoshop tools to create <i>in situ <\/i>signals originally absent in the sample, or enhancing weak signals<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Using a positive DNA control in place of a test DNA sample and creating an image to provide false evidence, or adding a DNA band originally not present<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Using a single image (cells in a sample) to create varied experimental outcomes, for example, using one image to create multiple images to show false protein colocalization signals<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Putting cells from different microscope fields into a single image<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Manipulation of signals\/bands in blots<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><b><span style=\"color: #222222;\">How can researchers avoid inappropriate image manipulation?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">If you are a researcher, you can avoid unethical image manipulation by taking precautions at different stages of your work.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Before capturing an image<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Understand the proper use of microscopes or other instruments and the software settings required for image acquisition. Work out the best contrast and brightness settings before capturing images.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Identify the best way to prepare a clean sample to minimize background noise and thus increase the resolution and sharpness of the image naturally.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Plan backward. Visualize the image and accordingly plan each step of your experiment. This approach may work very well for gel and western blot images.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">After capturing an image<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Always preserve the original image; make all adjustments on a copy of the raw image.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Capture images under identical settings if you need to compare images to explain your findings.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Educate yourself on magnification and resolution requirements. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Avoid using lossy compression algorithms such as JPEG and rather save all images as TIFF files.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Adhere to any guidelines your target journal provides for image presentation.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Explicitly mention in figure legends if the images were not adjusted at all or modified using an image-editing software, and if modified, which specific enhancement features were used.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;\"><\/h3>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><b><span style=\"color: black;\">Image manipulation ethics and integrity: Who is responsible?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Due diligence of all stakeholders is required to counter the pervasive practice of using fake images in research communications.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Authors.<\/span><\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\"> Authors have a duty to share accurate data with the scientific community and thus ensure the progress of the global scientific enterprise. Reporting what was not originally observed is unethical, as many other researchers may use their data to generate new hypothesis and start new investigations. Hence, authors need to act with utmost honesty to keep science trustworthy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Peer reviewers.<\/span><\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\"> Peer reviewers should be alert and report to journal editors the slightest suspicion they may have of image manipulation in manuscripts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Journal editors.<\/span><\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\"> Journal editors should ensure that the journal website provides clear guidelines for image adjustments in their \u201cinstructions for authors\u201d section. Accountability for disseminating reliable research lies with editors too, and they may also be accused of scientific misconduct if they publish fraudulent images. Thus, they should evaluate any image manipulation misconduct honestly and meticulously. Pre-publication image screening should be performed in alignment with any journal-specific guidelines and based on views of the research integrity committee (if a journal should have one).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) offers guidance for editors on handling suspicions or concerns regarding falsified data in a submitted manuscript<\/span><\/span><sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">1<\/span><\/sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">or in a published article.<\/span><\/span><sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">2,3<\/span><\/sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\"> It also provides guidelines on retraction<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">.<\/span><\/span><sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">4<\/span><\/sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Recently, eight major journals issued guidelines and have proposed a three-tier system for identifying forged and inappropriate images.<\/span><\/span><sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">5<\/span><\/sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"> Publishers have begun using forensics technologies<\/span><\/span><sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">6<\/span><\/sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"> to catch phony adjustments, duplication and other common deceptive distortions to an image.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Institutes. <\/span><\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Misconduct by researchers can endanger the reputation of the universities or research institutes to which authors are affiliated. Institutes should, therefore, take steps to prevent misconduct by researchers by providing adequate training on research and publication ethics to graduate students and staff alike. They should also proactively investigate image-related malpractices and take appropriate action to address them and deter similar behavior in the future<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Readers. <\/span><\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Should any instances of suspicious images escape the notice of the editorial staff or peer reviewers, readers can flag them. They <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">may use online platforms such as Pubpeer to discuss the published articles, provide feedback, and raise concerns.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Research Integrity professionals.<\/span><\/span><\/b> <span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">With an increase in incidents of image manipulation, newer roles such as data integrity professionals<\/span><\/span><sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">7<\/span><\/sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"> are gaining popularity. <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">These individuals critically analyze research data to identify problematic research. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Elisabeth Bik, recently awarded the 2021 John Maddock prize for her contribution towards ensuring research ethics in publishing,<\/span><\/span><sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">8<\/span><\/sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\"> is a name to reckon with. Bik\u2019s work encompasses data and image manipulation across 5,000 scientific papers. Her work has resulted in retractions\/corrections and ignited discussions on research ethics.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Consultancy services such as Image Data Integrity are working closely with journals to identify fake images. A collaborative network of expert professionals has thus emerged<\/span><\/span><sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">9<\/span><\/sup><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"> to compile best practices and frame guidelines to circumvent any intent of data fraud.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">Inappropriate image manipulation is a major and pervasive ethical problem faced by the scholarly community. Therefore, collective effort by all the stakeholders and multipronged measures are essential to address it effectively.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><b>References <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Committee on Publication Ethics: COPE. Fabricated data in a submitted manuscript. <i>COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics<\/i> https:\/\/publicationethics.org\/resources\/flowcharts\/fabricated-data-in-submitted-manuscript.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Committee on Publication Ethics: COPE. Fabricated data in a published article. <i>COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics<\/i> https:\/\/publicationethics.org\/resources\/flowcharts\/fabricated-data-published-article.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Committee on Publication Ethics: COPE. Image manipulation in a published article. <i>COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics<\/i> https:\/\/publicationethics.org\/resources\/flowcharts\/image-manipulation-published-article.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Committee on Publication Ethics: COPE. Retraction guidelines. <i>COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics<\/i> https:\/\/publicationethics.org\/retraction-guidelines.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Holly Else. Publishers unite to tackle doctored images in research papers. <i>Nature<\/i> https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-021-02610-7 (2021).<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Thorsten S. Beck. HEADT Centre &#8211; How to Detect Image Manipulations? Part 3. <i>The Headt Centre<\/i> https:\/\/headt.eu\/How-to-Detect-Image-Manipulations-Part-3\/ (2017).<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Richard Van Noorden. The image detective who roots out manuscript flaws | Nature. <i>Nature<\/i> https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/nature.2015.17749 (2015).<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Sense about Science. John Maddox Prize 2021 Winners \u2013 Sense about Science. https:\/\/senseaboutscience.org\/activities\/john-maddox-prize-2021-winners-announcement\/.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoBibliography\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Rossum, J. van <i>et al.<\/i> STM Recommendations for handling image integrity issues. (2021).<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><b>Additional reading<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine &#8220;Publication Ethics and Ethics in Science&#8221; (November 2012) https:\/\/www.ifcc.org\/media\/161822\/IFCC%20Ethics%20in%20Science.pdf<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">Office of Research Integrity <span class=\"MsoHyperlink\" style=\"color: blue;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/ori.hhs.gov\/education\/products\/RIandImages\/guidelines\/list.html\">https:\/\/ori.hhs.gov\/education\/products\/RIandImages\/guidelines\/list.html<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #211d1e;\">CSE\u2019s White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"> <span class=\"MsoHyperlink\" style=\"color: blue;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.councilscienceeditors.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/CSE-White-Paper_Feb2022_webPDF.pdf\">https:\/\/www.councilscienceeditors.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/CSE-White-Paper_Feb2022_webPDF.pdf<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #212121;\">Miura K, N\u00f8rrelykke SF. Reproducible image handling and analysis. EMBO J. 2021 Feb 1;40(3):e105889. doi: 10.15252\/embj.2020105889. Epub 2021 Jan 22. PMID: 33480052; PMCID: PMC7849301.<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"> <span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"color: #212121;\"><a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/33480052\/\">https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/33480052\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">ORI &#8220;Forensic Images Samples&#8221; for the quick examination of scientific images <\/span><\/span><span class=\"MsoHyperlink\" style=\"color: blue;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/ori.hhs.gov\/samples\">https:\/\/ori.hhs.gov\/samples<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: baseline;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #212121;\">Bik EM, Casadevall A, Fang FC. The Prevalence of Inappropriate Image Duplication in Biomedical Research Publications. mBio. 2016 Jun 7;7(3):e00809-16. doi: 10.1128\/mBio.00809-16. PMID: 27273827; PMCID: PMC4941872.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: baseline;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">The art of detecting data and image manipula<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">tion. <a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" title=\"Elsevier Connect Home\" href=\"https:\/\/www.elsevier.com\/connect\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: none;\"><span style=\"text-underline: none;\">Elsevier Connect<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">. Anthony Newman, November 2013. <a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.elsevier.com\/connect\/editors-update\/the-art-of-detecting-data-and-image-manipulation\">https:\/\/www.elsevier.com\/connect\/editors-update\/the-art-of-detecting-data-and-image-manipulation<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: baseline;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #212121;\">Shen H. Meet this super-spotter of duplicated images in science papers. Nature. 2020 May;581(7807):132-136. doi: 10.1038\/d41586-020-01363-z. PMID: 32405024.<\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"MsoHyperlink\" style=\"color: blue;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"><a style=\"color: blue; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/32405024\/\">https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/32405024\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Images are data used by researchers to explain their results and make evidence-based scientific claims. A good-quality image boosts the chances of manuscript acceptance. Thus, an image needs to be submitted in its original, yet presentable form per publication requirements. Researchers often make minor tweaks to get a best representative image that can help readers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2641,"featured_media":45519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2398,2418],"tags":[2591,2738,99,2581],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-3936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethical-declarations","category-research-ethics","tag-data-presentation","tag-ethical-declarations","tag-ethical-guidelines","tag-ethics-of-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Image manipulation: What\u2019s okay and not okay and who addresses it?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Images in research papers should meet publication standards. 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