Publication Integrity & Ethics (PIE) was developed over a decade ago to address several areas of concern and promote real editorial freedom.Read more.
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Consent
Consent refers to a legal agreement between two parties in order to give access to specific data, sensitive information or the right to publish them. Consent may also refer to an agreement between researchers and the participants in the scientific trials.
There are several forms of consenting, the most controversial being the implied consent, when the consent is not expressly granted by a person or by an organisation but inferred from their actions or inaction. The implied consent is not legally documented as the parties do not sign an agreement. Another type of consent is the expressed consent, which may be verbal, non-verbal or written.
Before publication of specific articles, scientific papers or researches, authors should:
- Obtain consent for publishing from all their contributors
- Obtain consent in a provable form. Therefore, the consent must be given in a written form, by letter or by mail. Consent may be also recorded in audio or video form
- In the case consent was given, editors must ensure that the contributor has sufficient understanding on the matter he or she has given their consent for.
There are few instances when only implied consent can be obtained. This usually applies in radio and television when people are interviewed at short notice or live during live news reporting.
