In late December 2019, an outbreak of an emerging disease (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19) due to a novel virus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) started in Wuhan, China, and rapidly spread throughout the world. Indeed, articles related to SARS-CoV-2 are published every minute in journals, thus demonstrating how popular the topic currently is. The study results were published with papers, preprints and preliminary reports style. This commentary highlights the importance of scientific and academic integrity during the SARS-CoV-2 crisis and aims to alert health professionals, especially doctors and forensic experts, that they should carefully read scientific articles and not blindly trust the findings, even if the journal has a high impact factor or is untouchable from a scientific point of view, as these articles are not all applicable. It is mandatory that researchers and decision makers, including politicians, act responsibly to ensure the scientific validity of studies conducted during outbreaks as well as the participants’ rights and safety in these studies.

Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira

COVID-19 research: pandemic versus “paperdemic”, integrity, values, and risks of the “speed science”

Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira
Department of Public Health and Forensic Sciences, and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Department of Sciences, IINFACTS-Institute of Research and Advanced Training in Health Sciences and Technologies, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS), CESPU, CRL, Gandra, Portugal; UCIBIO-REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

ABSTRACT
Scientific integrity is a learned skill. When researchers and students learn integrity in laboratories or in the classroom, they are empowered to use similar principles in other aspects of their lives. This commentary reviews the concepts related to scientific integrity at a time when science faces important challenges related to the increase number of articles produced regarding research on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has ignited another parallel viral pandemic, with science ranging from robust studies to dishonest studies being conducted, posted, and shared at an unprecedented rate. A balance is needed between the benefits of the rapid access to new scientific data and the threat of causing panic or erroneous clinical decisions based on mistakes or misconduct. The truth is that the “scientific research has changed the world” but now, and more than ever, “it needs to change itself”. A pandemic with a “paperdemic” will be even more complicated to manage if it progresses in an uncontrolled manner and is not properly scrutinized.

KEYWORDS
SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, research and academic integrity, peer review, pandemic, paperdemic

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