November 30, 2023 – On the third day of the 19th Science and Technology Week, the Office of Research Integrity, the UP College of Medicine (CM), and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) imparted knowledge and discoveries on their respective research to the attendees.

Hosted by Dr. Evelyn Salido and Mr. Rufus Adducul, the morning session,  “Authorship Guidelines & Perceptions of Research Integrity in UP Manila,” was presented by the members of the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). Dr. Edward HM Wang, Director of the ORI, briefly discussed in his opening remarks the responsible conduct or practice of research, the violations a researcher can commit, the difference of research integrity from research ethics, the growing research in the UPM community which prompted the establishment of the Office of Research Integrity.

Part I featured a talk by Dr. Jean Anne B. Toral, who presented a study on research integrity awareness of the UP Manila community.

Part II focused on Authorship Guidelines, with the following resource speakers giving inputs:

Dr. Edward HM Wang discussed the “Introduction to Authorship Manual” and the importance of publication with experts working in the academe.

Dr. Valerie T. Guinto imparted her knowledge about rightful authorship and the responsibilities an author holds on the “Who is an Author?” discussion.

Dr. Toral discussed “Authorship in Collaborative Works” and provided important insights regarding the importance of giving contributorship and following the credit taxonomy.

Dr. Sharon Yvette M. Villanueva delved on “Authorship Disclosures,” emphasizing the reflection of authors’ commitment to transparency.

Prof. Christopher Jay T. Robidillo explored “ChatGPT & Research Integrity’,” and talked about the concerns with Artificial Intelligence (AI) accuracy, bias, relevance, accountability, and transparency.
He also clarified that we can use AI to our advantage, but one should use it with caution.

Dr. Joanna J. Orejola discussed “Inappropriate Authorship Discussion,” and explored and gave
examples scenarios on types of inappropriate authorship – guest, gift, and ghost authorship and also suggested various ways on how one can avoid each. 

Dr. Jacinto Blas V. Mantaring III stressed “Best Practices For  Avoiding Authorship Conflicts & Disputes,” and shared his knowledge on the application of the established guidelines and ethics, clear communication, and documentation, as well as updating of authorship in research. 

Dr. Laurence Lloyd B. Parial discussed “Specific Scenarios” such as issues with resolving authorship issues on case reports in the medical field, student-mentor authorship, inventors, innovation and industry, and roles of research associates.

Mr. Adducul focused on “SOP for Complaints & Resolutions” in research, and covered the managing process on complaints and procedure
on resolving conflicts. The categories of complaints recognized in authorship includes, positioning or
hierarchy of authorship in publications and inclusion and exclusion in authorship or contributorship were also explained.

Dr. Diana Tamondong-Lachica and Dr. Wilson Turalde hosted the afternoon session, “The Healthy Filipino in the Hospital: Prevention and Improvement,” with the topics being presented by the speakers from the UP College of Medicine and Philippine General Hospital. The Dean of UP CM, Dr. Charlotte M. Chiong, opened the afternoon session and encouraged the participants to continue with their research.

Each speaker has presented their respective clinical researches on different types of disease and/or condition, physical activity and fitness, and discussed the relevance of interoperability or health record systems on health-related research. As with the morning session, each researcher has an assigned reactor to facilitate interactive discussion and suggestions to improve the research presented.

Due to the confidentiality stated in the non-disclosure agreement, the titles of each research are not allowed to be shared in public, for now. #

Angelou C. Mendoza