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For this month's comic, we're diving into a story of a diagnostic case gone wrong, and what might have led to it.

Panel 1: Narration: In 2020, I spent a week in the hospital for severe anemia. Image: An image of Rebecca, a white woman with curly brown hair, sits in a hospital bed in a hospital gown. She is hooked up to a blood bag and looks depressed.
Panel 2: Narration: Before this, I’d spent a month trying to get tested for anemia.. I displayed a lot of symptoms: Image: An image of Rebecca, wearing a face mask, very pale, is in the center. There are various symptoms of anemia pointing to her. They say: Lightheadedness, pulsatile tinnitus, cold even in August, Palor, fatigue, short of breath Panel 3: Narration: But I kept being refused as my GP was on vacation. When I tried to push the test, I was told: Image: Three speech bubbles are below: they read as “It’s just anxiety” and “This never happens” and “It’ll be fine to wait for your GP to come back.”
Panel 4: I’d planned to wait for my GP, but after almost fainting, I got a rival medical system to run the test. I got my results that night via the phone. It went something like this: Image: Rebecca, incredibly pale, is holding her cell phone. Her cat watches from a counter. From the phone, audio goes: Phone: So. You are very anemic.
Panel 5: Image: Rebecca drops her phone. Rebecca, gleeful, with her hands raised yells “Yes I’m not crazy” From her phone, it states: “Also you need to go to the nearest ER” Her cat watches the phone fall with alarm
Panel 6: Rebecca, with her hands still raised looks confused. She says: “Wait what?” Her phone, now resting where the cat once was, says: “as soon as possible, actually.”
Panel 7: Narration: Thankfully I managed to recover from my bout with vampirism, but after everything was said and done, my doctors, family, friends and myself all had the same question: Image: Rebecca, dressed as a vampire with red eyes and fangs asks “How did this happen?”
Panel 8: While I’d only spent a month seeking out a test, I’d voiced my concerns about some symptoms I had for the past 9 months. My concerns usually were answered with the same response: Image: Four separate scenes are shown. The upper left hand corner features a nurse with a goatee and a half shaved head. The upper right hand corner a doctor reaches out over a sink. The bottom left hand corner shows a phone. The bottom right hand corner shows three doctors discussing in front of a hospital bed. All four of them say “No one gets severe anemia at your age?”
Panel 9: (I did not respond well to that answer, once in the hospital) Image: Rebecca, in a hospital gown, yells “YET HERE WE ARE”
Panel 10: So how did this get overlooked for so lon g? I can’t say for sure but I think cognitive bias had something to do with it. Image: A chibi version of Rebecca speaks, with text under it labeling it as a “disclaimer.” Rebecca’s speech bubble: “I do want to stress I think cognitive bias was one of the many potential factors in my case. I’m using my own story here not to cast blame on anyone but to provide narrative for us to explore this concept. Panel 11: Narration: What are cognitive biases? They are patterns of thinking, often quick or subconscious, that are prone to error (1). Image: A picture of a video game is shown, labeled fallacy dodge. In the game, a humanoid rabbit wearing a scarf faces a frozen tundra full of hazards. Spikes on the floor are labeled as “spikes of confirmation bias” stalactites on the ceiling are labeled as “attentional bias” . a large jump with a coin on it is labeled as “authority bias”, and a pool of frozen water is labeled as “anchoring bias”
Panel 12: Narration: Let’s take a look at some common fallacies that can be seen in medical practice Image: Rebecca stands in front of a blackboard where “cognitive bias 101” is written in chalk
Panel 13: Narration: Anchoring bias: relying on only one piece of information (often the 1st piece one hears) when making choices (1). Image: a thought bubble leads to an anchor where it rests at the bottom of the ocean
Panel 14: Narration: Confirmation bias: looking for, focusing on and recalling information that aligns with one’s beliefs Image: A scientist cheers, holding one paper. Behind him is a large pile of papers labeled as “studies that disprove theory.” Scientist speech bubble: Look! This study proves my theory!” Panel 15: Narration: The ostrich effect: ignoring or avoiding negative information Image: An ostrich, wearing a lab coat, buries its head in the sand. Another ostrich, half off screen, looks down at it confused.
Panel 16: Narration: Conjunction fallacy: the tendency to assume that multiple specific conditions are more likely than one general 1 (1). Image: Zoey, a Black woman wearing glasses in a hospital gown, stands in the middle of the screen. The text around her reads as follows Text box 1: Zoey has a cough, a fever and body aches. Text box 2: Is it? Bullet 1: Asbestosis Bullet 2: Invasive Candidiasis Bullet 3: Lyme disease Text box 3: Or the flu?* Text box 4: It could be either, but it’s important to confirm it isn’t the likely answer.
Panel 17: Narration: Posthoc Fallacy: Assuming one event caused a later event because on happened before the other assuming correlation=causation can be an example of this(1) Image: A bald Black man in a suit looks at a line up of an ice cream cone and a virus labeled as “flu” Both hold signs. The ice cream sign says “ice cream.” The man says “Who made me sick….I did just have the ice cream recently” and the ice cream says “I’m innocent i swear”
Narration: framing bias: our perception of data depends on how it is presented(1) Image: A woman in a hijab and a person with brown skin and brown hair sit watching television. On the television, there is an advertisement for Radiant made with Calciferol. The woman in the hijab says “Wait isn’t calciferol just vitamin D?” and the person across from them says “but it looks so fancy!”
Panel 19: Narration: There are countless other fallacies that can interfere with decision making. But mistakes occur due to reasons other than fallacies. Image: Rebecca, shrugging, says “think about your quality of choices when you’re tired.”
Panel 20: Narration: Systematic issues such as understaffing and long hours can lead to increased mistakes. Image: A nurse and a doctor stand across from each other. The doctor is holding up his hand and making an L, like people use to tell directions. They speak as follows: Nurse: Doc, you’re exhausted. Can you even tell left from right? Doctor: Of course, left is…uh” Nurse: This is not inspiring confidence. Panel 21: Narration: When extra stressors like covid further strain such overworked systems, it’s possible that more errors can occur. Image: The doctor and nurse stand masked surrounded by virus particles, looking more tired.
Panel 22: Narration: Frankly, I think Covid played the largest role in my own situation. With folks tired and overworked from the pandemic, it was easier for my own case to slip through the cracks. Image: Rebecca falling between two cliffs.
Panel 23: Narration: Stereotypes and Implicit bias also play a role in errors, along with health disparities. Image: Four people speak regarding health. A women with brown skin and long black hair says: 24% of women feel a health care provider has ignored or dismissed their symptoms (2) A latino man with curly brown hair says: 32% of hispanic patients felt they had to speak up to get proper care (3). A black woman with her hair in two buns says : Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women (4). A white person with orange hair and freckles in a wheelchair who has a right leg amputation says “A 2021 study found that US doctors believed disabled people have a lower quality of life than non-disabled people (5)
Panel 24: Narration: There are efforts to address implicit bias and stereotypes in medicine but there is still a lot of work to do. Image: Rebecca looking depressed says: I’ve heard a lot of stories from folks feeling dismissed or not listened to and I have my own that I haven’t told here.
Panel 25: Narration: All types of bias lead not only to clinical errors but a lack of trust in medicine as a whole Image: A snake next to a bottle of snake oil and “ms. Bettys cure all” says: Lack of trust in medicine can lead to folks buying into pseudoscience or snake oil. Panel 26: Narration: There is no way to truly eliminate cognitive bias, but we can try to reduce it. Image: the nurse from earlier says “for systematic issues, we need more top down solutions.”
Panel 27: Narration: Taking a moment to think about why we’re thinking something can help. Diagnosing fast and slow recommends we ask ourselves the following: Image: Three doctors stand thinking. Above them are the following thought bubbles: Doctor 1: Why do I think this? Doctor 2: Could I be wrong? Doctor 3: What else could this be?
Panel 28: Narration: And maybe with those questions in mind we can prevent more patients from falling through the cracks Image: a sidewalk is shown with flowers growing out of the cracks

SOURCES:

  1. Coughlan JJ, Mullins CF, Kiernan TJ. Diagnosing, fast and slow. Postgrad Med J. 2021;97(1144):103-109. doi:10.1136/postgradmedj-2019-137412
  2. Long M, Frederiksen B, Ranji U, Diep K, Published AS. Women’s Experiences with Provider Communication and Interactions in Health Care Settings: Findings from the 2022 KFF Women’s Health Survey. KFF. February 22, 2023. Accessed October 10, 2024.https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/womens-experiences-with-provider-communication-interactions-health-care-settings-findings-from-2022-kff-womens-health-survey/
  3. Lopez CF and MH. 2. Hispanic Americans’ experiences with health care. Pew Research Center. June 14, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/hispanic-americans-experiences-with-health-care/
  4. Hill L, Artiga S, Published UR. Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them. KFF. November 1, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-status-and-efforts-to-address-them/
  5. Jackson L. Doctors must challenge ableism in healthcare. BMJ. 2023;383:2968. Published 2023 Dec 20. doi:10.1136/bmj.p2968
  6. Dahm, M. R., Williams, M., & Crock, C. (2022). ‘More than words’ – Interpersonal communication, cognitive bias and diagnostic errors. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(1), 252–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.05.012

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What do librarians do anyway? If you want to find out, check out the comic below!

Panel 1: Narration: When people think of librarians, they often picture the following: an older woman with glasses and a cardigan. Image: A librarian, who looks as the narration described, shushes the audience. Panel 2: Narration: Who mainly spends her time shushing people, reading and sitting at a desk. Image:The same librarian from the first panel sits at a desk with a sign that says “silence is mandatory”
Panel 3: Narration: Like all stereotypes, some folks do fit the mold demographically, the realities of the job are much different than what folks expect. Image: Rebecca, a librarian with brown curly hair and glasses, shrugs and says “honestly, I can’t remember the last time I shushed anyone.”
Panel 4: The tools librarians use might look different in the digital age, but the basic goal of ensuring information is accessible and discoverable remains the same. Image: A stack of books is placed next to a laptop.
Panel 5: To achieve this goal, along with other library functions, there’s actually a wide variety of types of librarians. Image: A librarian building is held up by the silhouettes of five people of various body types and skin colors.
Panel 6: Let’s take a closer look at some of the variety out there… Image: There are eight boxes, each featuring a different person. The box labeled Circulation contains a heavy set pale blonde man with glasses. The Acquisition box contains a lean person of older age with gray hair, brown skin and wrinkles. The box labeled Serials contains a man with dark skin and dreads, wearing a red suit. The box labeled Scholarly Communication, has a medium sized woman with tan skin and black hair. The box labeled childrens has a heavy set black woman with her hair in two buns, smiling. The box labeled Specialists, features a lean tan man with a goatee and wrinkles with graying hair. The box labeled archivists features a pal skinned red headed woman with glasses. The last box contains Rebecca, and is labeled reference.
The circulation librarian sits at a desk, facing the audience. He says “Circulation doesn’t just check out books, but things like chargers, electronics or even dry erase markers.”
Panel 8: Like circulation acquisitions can also be a team effort. Acquisitions involves ordering and acquiring new material for the library. Image: The acquisitions librarian sits behind a stack of books, saying “an acquisitions librarian works with vendors and publishers to acquire material”
Image: A laptop is open on a desk and on the screen is the serials librarian. He says “these days many serial publications can be found digitally.”
Panel 10: In academic libraries, scholarly communication librarians help students and faculty alike publish their work. This can be by helping journals to publish in or managing an institutional repository. Image: The scholarly communications librarian is in a sailor’s outfit on a tiny boat, where a shark swims. She says “when it comes to avoiding predatory publishers, we can help.”
Panel 11: Children’s librarians work with children and young adults. They help select material for different age groups and organize events and outreach for patrons. Storytime for young kids is a good example of an event they run. Image: The children’s librarian sits in front of a group of children with a picture book she is reading out loud. Behind her is a teddy bear and books.
Panel 12: Specialists librarians work in special libraries where the often specialize in a topic or field. Law librarians and medical librarians fall into this category. Image: The specialist librarian stands in front of a cabinet with a scale on it. He says “around one-third of law librarians have a law degree”
Panel 13: Archivists aren’t the same as librarians but they often have the same masters degree. They are specialists in preserving material and helping people access it. Image: The archivist reads a book in front of a desk and several file cabinets
Panel 14: Reference librarians, like myself, help people do research and find materials. They may also specialize in a topic or subject area. Image: Rebecca stands in a hedge maze, with a torch. She says “There’s so much material to look through it can feel like a maze. Our job in reference is to help people navigate that maze.”
Panel 15: There are other types of librarians not mentioned here, such as library directors, as well as library jobs that are done by staff. Both librarians and library staff are essential to keeping the library running. Image: a puzzle in the shape of a library is shown Panel 16: TThe things that tie libraries together are our commitment to some shared ideals.The American Library association has a whole list of professional standards and guidelines on its website. Image: The ALA logo is shown
Panel 17: There are initiatives to recruit librarians from underrepresented groups and organizations dedicated to supporting these groups. Image: Rebecca is shown, saying “there are efforts to also recruit librarians from underrepresented groups.”
Panel 17: Libraries seek to protect intellectual freedom and preserve privacy. The American library association opposed the Patriot Act and in 2006. Four connecticut librarians went to court regarding gag orders. Image: Uncle Sam stands in front of an American flag, saying “I wasn’t trying to spy on patron records…I just wanted…uh. Book recommendations.”
Panel 18: Libraries also promise literacy and not just for books. Image: Different types of images are shown next to types of literacy: a computer with computer literacy, a stethoscope next to health literacy, a dollar next to financial literacy, a ballot box next to civic literacy and a phone next to media literacy.
Panel 19: Teaching, instruction, budget management, programming, research: all of these skills are needed to keep libraries going. Image: two shelves are shown with different kind of hats on them. The hats are labeled with different kinds of library skills.
Panel 20: And only one of them, on rare occasions, is to shush people. END Image: Rebecca stands in front of two shelves and a reminder to keep quiet on the second floor. She winks as she says “shush”
  1. Acquisitions | ALA. American Library Association. May 5, 2009. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/topics/atoz/profresourcesacquisitions/acquisitions
  2. Serials | ALA. American Library Association. April 29, 2010. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/Serials/serials
  3. Education. American Association of Law Librarians. Accessed September 24, 2024. https://www.aallnet.org/careers/about-the-profession/education
  4. What’s an Archivist? National Archives. June 7, 2022. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://www.archives.gov/about/info/whats-an-archivist.html
  5. ALA Standards & Guidelines | ALA. American Library Association. June 13, 2008. Accessed September 25, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/guidelines
  6. Vinopal J. The Quest for Diversity in Library Staffing: From Awareness to Action – In the Library with the Lead Pipe. In the Library With The Lead Pipe. January 13, 2016. Accessed September 25, 2024. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2016/quest-for-diversity/
  7. Elliott J. Remember When the Patriot Act Debate Was All About Library Records? ProPublica. June 17, 2013. Accessed September 20, 2024. https://www.propublica.org/article/remember-when-the-patriot-act-debate-was-about-library-records

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What is plagiarism anyway? In today's blog post, here's a comic about what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it.

Narration: Sometimes I think people view plagiarism like an unseen horror movie monster: they know it's bad and should be avoided, but aren’t clear on the specifics. Image: There is a red question mark centered in the center of the page. Around it, is text that states as follows:”Plagiarism is: stealing? Not using quotes? Bad. It’s Def Bad!”
Panel 2: Narration: This is Understandable: What does stealing an idea even look like? Image: A man with pale skin wearing a black and white striped shirt, a black domino mask, and a black hat, is running away. He is dressed to look like an classic bank robber. He is holding under his arm an empty thought bubble. Robber Speech Bubble: “You’ll never catch me copyright lawyers!” Panel 3: Narration: Webster’s defines “Plagiarize” as “to steal and pass off (the ideas or works of another) as one’s own” “without crediting the source” Image: A larger man with brown skin, short hair and a tank top points up at the narration bar. Man’s Speech Bubble: Oh hey! A citation!
Narration: Sounds simple enough. Credit others for their work. Image: A man with dark brown skin and dreads, wearing a long sleeved shirt, gestures to a fat woman with curly gray hair, a long sleeved shirt, a skirt and some jewelry. She looks confused, scratching the back of her head. Gesturing Man speech bubble: Behold! My source! Confused women speech bubble: This seems excessive…
Panel 5: Narration: But like many things in life, the devil is in the details. Image: A horned demon, which looks like a mix of a goat, and a dragon with three eyes, clawed hands, sharp teeth and a pointed tail spreads their arms in delight. They hold a red pitchfork and wear a white suit with a yellow tie. Behind them is fire.
Panel 6: Narration: It can be shockingly easy to plagiarize unintentionally. Image: A woman with light brown skin and brown/blonde hair in a ponytail gestures to a pile of empty thought bubbles. She wears a green blouse and blue jeans and looks defensive and confused. Standing across from her is an older bald man with dark brown skin, simple glasses, and a mustache. He is wearing a suit with a yellow tie and belt. His hands are on his hips. Woman’s Speech bubble: I don’t know where these uncited sources came from! Older man’s Speech bubble: That’s what they all say!
Panel 7: Image: A picture of Rebecca, a librarian, with pale skin, dark brown curly hair, and glasses speaks to the viewer. Speech Bubble: I think the best way to explain what is and isn’t plagiarism is to provide examples.
Panel 1: Narration: So let’s start with some common examples of plagiarism: Image: Rebecca chases after a humanoid cat, who is dressed as a cat burglar. The cat is gray, wearing a little black hat, with light gray fur that darkens like a cat burglar mask over their eyes. The cat is holding a speech bubble where the text is obscured by their arm, and the end of the speech bubble looks ripped. One of Rebecca’s speech bubbles includes only the tail, implying the cat stole her original speech bubble and is running off with it. The cat is labeled as “The Copycat Plagiarist” Rebecca speech bubble: My speech bubble! Cat speech bubble: Mine now!
Panel 2: Image: Rebecca is in the background, clearly irate, her hands stretched out. Her speech bubble is once again missing with only the tail remaining. In the foreground, the cat is speaking to the viewer. He holds a hammer, and his own speech bubble features two wooden boards that connect the tail and the bubble itself. Narration: Most folks know that copying someone’s words directly is plagiarism. Cat Speech Bubble: For example, copying and pasting text directly from Wikipedia. Panel 3: Narration: But it’s also plagiarism to take someone’s words and just change a few words or change the order (2). Image: Rebecca and the cat are facing each other. Rebecca looks irate and the cat is looking up, innocently. Their respective speech bubbles have highlighted text showing where the cat is taking text from Rebecca. Rebecca’s Speech Bubble 1: If it’s someone else’s idea or thoughts, it still needs a citation.” Cat’s Speech bubble 2: “It still needs a citation if it’s someone else’s concept or outlook.”
Panel 4: Narration: The best way to avoid both these issues is a proper citation. But what does a proper citation look like? Image: A man with brown skin, short brown hair, a blue tank top, and 5 o'clock shadow, shrugs in the middle of the panel, surrounded by question marks.
Panel 5: Narration: First, when using information from a source, you should cite it. These often are in the reference section. Image: A piece of paper that says “References” at the top of the page is shown, with a warm glow behind it, showing its importance. Panel 6: Narration: But the reference section isn’t the only step: when we paraphrase, quote, refer to or use ideas from a specific piece of work, we need to show readers which reference we’re using. That’s where in-text citations come in. Images: In the background, the cat looks bored, staring into the distance. In front of him, Rebecca holds out her hand to cut him off and yells. Cat speech bubble: “Lame” Rebecca Speech Bubble: “Quiet You!”
Panel 7: Narration: (There are a variety of citation styles but they all have the same purpose. Fields tend to have a citation style they prefer.) Image: A fashion runway is shown, with a red curtain in the background and stereo speakers. On the runway, the letters MLA are shown wearing clothing like a crown, jeans, shoes and a scarf.
Panel 8: Narration: In-text citations help us match a piece of information to its source. Image: A woman with light brown skin, and red hair, wears a detective outfit including a deerstalker. Behind her is a whiteboard with red string connecting various post-it notes, centered around the text “it’s connected”
Panel 9: Narration: Think of in-text citations like a map that can guide a reader to the original source. It allows folks to retrace the author’s steps. Image: A picture of a map is shown, with four land masses, a boat, and a giant octopus tentacle. There is a dotted line that connects a subscript 1 to a big red X.
Panel 10: Image: Rebecca speaks to the audience. Rebecca Speech Bubble: So how do we use in-text citations? Whenever talking about or using a specific source, add an in-text citation
Panel 11: Narration: When using a direct quote, also include quotation marks so readers know what is another person’s work and what isn’t (2). Image: A split panel is shown. On the left, is the cat, speaking to the audience, with the label of “wrong” next to him. On the right, Rebecca is shown speaking to the audience, with the label of “right” next to her. Cat speech bubble: “They said it is critical to use proper citations.” Rebecca speech bubble: “They said “It is critical to use proper citations (15).”
Panel 1: Narration: In-text citations also should be used for images, especially graphs or charts. Image 1: Three different kinds of graphs are shown: a pie chart, a line graph and a bar graph. There is also a picture of a skull with text under it that states “diagrams too!”
Panel 2: Image: Rebecca and the Cat are standing behind a wall. The cat is leaning on the wall looking frustrated, one arm raised up. To his right, Rebecca responds to him. Cat speech bubble: So I have to cite everything!? Who am I supposed to cite for basic stuff like “water is wet and I don’t like it!” Rebecca speech bubble: No, of course not. For two reasons! Panel 3: Narration: The first part “water is wet” is what we would consider common knowledge (4). Common knowledge includes facts that most people would know without looking them up. Image: In the narration, there is a little pop out bubble of Rebecca’s face to denote she is narrating. In the image, the cat, no longer humanoid, looks disgruntled as it sits under a rain cloud.
Panel 4: Narration: So a fact like “diseases can be caused by germs” doesn’t need a citation to ward off the ghost of Louis Pasteur. Image: A person with dark skin and long hair sits at a desk, looking at a computer. An exclamation mark is above their head. Above them, the ghost of Louis Pasteur floats, with his arms crossed. Ghost speech bubble: “Excuse me?!” Panel 5: Narration: The second reason is “I don’t like it” is your personal opinion you don’t need to cite yourself.* Image: Rebecca is shown trying to shove a closet door shut. Rebecca Speech Bubble: “However if you’re using something you previously published, that’s another story (and another comic).”
Panel 6: Image: The cat with his arms outstretched, yells at the audience. Cat speech Bubble 1: How am I supposed to remember all this?
Panel 7: Narration: By asking for help!There are guides for multiple citation styles in the library and online. Your librarian can also help with citation questions. Image: Rebecca speaks to the audience, gesturing to the list of floating words. The floating words are “zotero” “refworks” and “endnote” Rebecca Speech Bubble: “There are even programs made specifically to help manage citations.”
Panel 7: Narration: By asking for help!There are guides for multiple citation styles in the library and online. Your librarian can also help with citation questions. Image: Rebecca speaks to the audience, gesturing to the list of floating words. The floating words are “zotero” “refworks” and “endnote” Rebecca Speech Bubble: “There are even programs made specifically to help manage citations.” Panel 8: Narration: Just remember this tip. If you’re not sure, cite it! It’s best to give more credit than needed than to leave someone’s hard work unacknowledged. Image: Rebecca and the cat stand next to each other, glaring at one another. Rebecca holds a squirt gun which she is spraying the cat with. The cat is reaching off panel into the citations panel as if to steal one of the citations. Rebecca Speech Bubble: “Bad kitty!” Cat Speech Bubble: “Come on! I almost had it!”

Works Cited:

  1. “Definition of PLAGIARIZE.” Merriam-Webster. Published June 20, 2024. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize
  2. Harvard College Writing Program, “What Constitutes Plagiarism?” Harvard University. Accessed June 7, 2024. https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/what-constitutes-plagiarism-0
  3. University of Washington Health Sciences “Library AMA Style Guide: In-Text Citations.” University of Washington Health Science Library, University of Washington. Published March 1, 2024. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://guides.lib.uw.edu/hsl/ama/intext
  4. Purdue University, “Common Knowledge & Attribution - Purdue OWL®.” Purdue University. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/avoiding_plagiarism/common-knowledge_attribution.html

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Sometimes researching can be more complicated than it appears. Below, we take a look at predatory publishing, what it is, and how to avoid it.

A title card that says predatory publishing
Narration: A label next in the bottom left corner denotes the speaker as “Rebecca, Librarian, Amature Cartoonist.”
Pp Page 1
Rebecca in the boat, looks down concerned at the sea, where multiple shark fins can be seen poking through the waves. The speech bubble states “But there metaphorical waters can prove treacherous. And unlike real sharks, these threats to scientific knowledge provide little benefit to the scholarly ecosystem”
Narration: “Introducing Predatory Publishing” is at the top of the page. At the bottom, there is a label for the shark, which states “Ponzi, the Shark” Image: A shark wearing a top hat and bow tie waves a fin, looking smug.
Panel 4 Narration: “But what are predatory publishers?” Image: Rebecca looking stern, looks forward with a parrot on her shoulder. “Predatory publishers are journals that only exist to make money.” panel 5 Image: A white man with blonde hair and old fashion clothes, holding onto ship wreckage like Jack in Titanic, looks at a mermaid with brown skin, black hair and a purple tail. In the background there is other evidence of a ship wreck. The man says “What do you mean “make money?” to which the mermaid replies “You didn’t know?”
Pp Page 1
Image: Now under the sea, the mermaid from earlier gestures to a treasure chest full of gold. Other sea life float in the background. She says “Scientific publishing is a huge business. One publisher, had a profit margin of almost 40% in 2023 (1). In contrast, Apple’s was 44% (2).
Pp Page 1
Panel 1 Narration: To best understand how publishers make so much money, one must learn how the publishing process works. Image: The parrot from earlier says “Polly want an explanation!” Panel 2 Narration: “Traditional publishing looks something like this. Scientists submit to journals who publish it to the world (ideally). And money flows like this: scientists submit to journals for free (or a small fee) and publishers pay to publish the work to the world, who pay higher costs in return for access. Publishers get work for free that is edited for free and then charge individuals, libraries, ect for access. Image: A flow chart of a beaker, a journal and the Earth is shown demonstrating the relationship described in the narration.
Narration: This can lead to science being behind a paywall, especially for scientists, schools and others who can’t afford to pay. Image: Rebecca and Polly the parrot stand on opposite sides of a poster with a picture of a journal on it. The poster says “$$$$ science.” Rebecca, talking to Polly, says “I can’t afford this.” Polly, who is resting on a bird perch, says “Polly can’t even afford a cracker…”
Panel 1 Narration: SO a new model was born: open access. It looks like the traditional model but money flows like this (authors pay to journals to publish their work and journals pay to publish to the world). The idea is the author pays a fee to ensure wider access. Image: A flow chart of a beaker, a journal and the Earth is shown demonstrating the relationship described in the narration. Panel 2: Narration: Ideally, the rest works the same. Scientists submit their best works, it’s peer reviewed and if it passes muster, it’s published like traditional publishing. Image: We see the Earth in space with an Astronaut floating in the foreground. The astronaut says “I even get access out here!” There is also a UFO floating over the Earth as a gag.
Narration: Except…what if instead of being discerning about what you publish, you just accept everything? After all, the more articles you accept, the more money you make in fees.
Pp 2
Narration: This is the business model of predatory publishers: accept anything and make a profit from the fees. Some tactics of predatory publishers include: Image: A wanted poster of Ponzi the shark is affixed to a brick wall. On the poster, Ponzi looks alarmed. The text of the poster says “wanted: fraud.”
Narration: Pretending to be respected journals by spoofing the name of a more reputable publication. Image: A bald Black scientist wearing glasses looks concerned at Ponzi, who looks the same except for a drawn on fake mustache. Both of them stand next to posters. The scientist’s poster says “submit to Nature.” Ponzi’s poster states “submit to Natures.”
Panel 1 Narration: Or they’ll ue the name of a defunct journal that has a better reputation. Image: Ponzi the shark is seen floating underwater over a human skeleton. There are two labels affixed to each. The skeleton is labeled as “human sciences.” Ponzi is labeled as “human sciences 2.0” Panel 2: Narration: They might offer services like peer review with no intention of doing it, or claim rapid turn around times. Image: A white and yellow tropical fish stares at a piece of paper on a fish hook. The paper says “pls review in 24 hours.” Question marks are shown over the fish’s head.
Narration: The reason this is a huge issue is partially one of quality. Predatory publishers flood scientific literature with B.S that can be dangerous.
Pp 2
Narration: The other issue impacts scientists: those tricked into publishing in these journals can see a hit to their reputations. Image: A line up of three figures is shown with a text box underneath. The first two figures are literal clowns in full makeup while the third is a scientist with brown skin and brown hair looking horrified in their direction. The text underneath the three states” This issue: Balloon animals found to boost happiness page 8. The speed of trick flowers page 32. New cells found in clinical trials page 41.
Panel 1: Image: The shipwrecked sailor holding onto wood planks from page 1 floats in the ocean. He asks “So what do we do about this? Give up on open access?” Panel 2: Image: Rebecca is seen balancing on the mast of the ship with the sail behind her. He says “of course not! Open science is important. We just need to be careful.”
Narration: Look for red flags. Things like: Image: A red flag is seen in the sky. On the red flag there is a yellow circle which showcases Ponzi the shark.
Panel 1 Narration: Editors who have frank credentials, lack expertise that matches the journal or don’t exist at all. Image: A volleyball with a face painted on it in red (much like Wilson in Castaway) rests on a beach. Below it, a text box states: “Editor in Chief: Wilson V. Ball” Panel 2: Narration: Having a weird street address for a business or no about page. Image: An underwater cave is shown, There is a wooden sign in front of the cave that says “home of Natures.”
Panel 1 Narration: You’re naked to submit work entirely unsolicited. Image: An anglerfish with a letter in the place of its light antenna, floats in the deep sea. With sharp teeth it says “You got mail.” Panel 2: Narration: Promising rapid publication. Image: A stopwatch on a chain is shown with the intervals of 15, 30 and 45 on it. The top interval says “publish.”
Panel 1 Narration: Unsure about a publisher? You can ask a librarian or try using Cabells, a director of publishing opportunities. It identifies predatory publishers. We offer access to Cabells through Himmelfarb. Image: The interface of Cabells is shown where journals are marked as predatory. Panel 2 Narration: Good luck! Image: Rebecca is seen in the bird's nest, giving a salute to the audience. The ocean and sun can be seen behind her,
A list of sources\ Yup K. How Scientific Publishers’ Extreme Fees Put Profit Over Progress. Published online May 31, 2023. Accessed May 6, 2024. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/neuroimage-elsevier-editorial-board-journal-profit/ Miglani J. Apple Sales And Profits Analysis For FY 2023 — Top 10 Insights. Forrester. Published November 21, 2023. Accessed May 6, 2024. https://www.forrester.com/blogs/apple-sales-and-profits-analysis-for-fy-2023-top-10-insights/ Bueter R. Research Guides: Predatory Publishing: Home. Himmelfarb Health Science Library. Accessed May 29, 2024. https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/PredatoryPublishing/Home

Sources:

  1. Yup K. How Scientific Publishers’ Extreme Fees Put Profit Over Progress. Published online May 31, 2023. Accessed May 6, 2024. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/neuroimage-elsevier-editorial-board-journal-profit/
  2. Miglani J. Apple Sales And Profits Analysis For FY 2023 — Top 10 Insights. Forrester. Published November 21, 2023. Accessed May 6, 2024. https://www.forrester.com/blogs/apple-sales-and-profits-analysis-for-fy-2023-top-10-insights/
  3. Bueter R. Research Guides: Predatory Publishing: Home. Himmelfarb Health Science Library. Accessed May 29, 2024. https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/PredatoryPublishing/Home

Published on

Hello all. For today’s blog post, we’re sharing a comic from one of our reference librarians, regarding quackery. Enjoy! 

Quackery: An Introduction to Fakes, Frauds, Forgeries and Other Falsehoods.
Image: A librarian, Rebecca, stands in the middle of the panel, one finger raised. She is a woman with pale skin, curly brown hair tied back in a ponytail, a pair of glasses, and she wears a purple short sleeved polo shirt. Narration: Quackery: A term that refers to the practices of fraudsters and conmen, often in the field of medicine. Rebecca, Dialogue: “And let me tell you, history has a lot of quacks!”
Image: A pop up is shown, with bright outlandish colors. The ad states “You Won! Miracle Acne Cream. Buy now!! $19.99.” A mouse icon hovers over the “buy now” text. Narration: Folks have tried to scam each other…
Image: A man with light brown skin and short brown hair wears a toga and stands in front of a sales booth. He is yelling, gesturing to his wares. The sales booth has some coins and a bowl on it, and on the front, a sign says “100% effective, no refunds” Narration: Probably as long as lying was invented. Greek Salesman Dialogue: “Plague B-Gone charms! One silver a piece!”
Image: Rebecca shrugs her shoulders, rolling her eyes, as she stands in the center of the panel. Rebecca Dialogue: “There tends to be some trends when it comes to health fraud and fakery.”
Image: A radioactive warning sign is in the center of the panel, surrounded by four objects, text and a small version of Rebecca. The text states “We put radium in everything!” The following products are shown, each labeled: toothpaste, hair cream, water (with the text “oh god why don’t” on the label”) and pottery (a small goblet). The chibi Rebecca says “I mean everything.” Narration: Trend 1: A new substance is discovered or an old one becomes trendy and someone decides to sell it for its “health benefits.” (1)
Image: Three different examples are shown. The first is the drawing of a class of water with the label “raw water” and the description: “free dysentery in every bottle.” The second is a drawing of a vaccine shot with the label “anti-vax solutions” and the description “Diphtheria: the comeback kid!” The third is a small picture of the sun wearing sunglasses with the label “types of sun bathing” and the description “skin cancer? Never heard of her.” The drawing of the sun says “aw no.” Narration: “Trend 2: Folks have been arguing that “All Natural” solutions are the golden ticket- for a pretty penny of course.
Image: A light skinned homeopath with a vest and a beard stands in front of a table with a snake and a bottle on it. The homeopath’s eyes are closed, and he speaks to the snake as if lecturing it. The snake replies. Narration: Trend 3: Some strands of quackery just won’t die even when they fail to work. Homeopathy for example, keeps on kicking. (2) Dialogue, Homeopath: “If I dilute your venom dozens of times, I can treat-” Dialogue, Snake: “Abssssoultely nothing.”
Image: Rebecca stands in the middle of the panel, looking serious. Rebecca Dialogue: “As silly as some of these remedies sound, quackery is dangerous.”
Image: Small cartoon drawings of measle viruses fill the panel. Narration: Both on an individual level; patients can die from preventable/treatable conditions. (Measles, for example, has made a big come-back in the US with the rise of the Anti-Vax movement). (3)
Image: A diagram of a cartoon human is in the center of the panel, with lines dividing their brain into different color coded sections with numbers. On the right, there is text identifying a trait to correspond with each part. It reads as follows: “1. Prophecy 2. Intimidation. 3. Immortality 4. Mirth. 100% B.S) Narration: But also at a societal level where it can uphold harmful ideas. Phrenology for example was used to uphold and codify scientific racism.
Narration: People have combatted quackery for ages and it’s easy to join their ranks. Here’s some ways to help. Image Description: A duck wearing a lab coat floats in a body of water, Dialogue, off screen: “...I don’t think that duck has a medical degree.”
Narration: 1. Be skeptical! Anyone can fall for quackery regardless of intelligence. Never assume you’re “too smart” to fall for fraud. Image: A picture of Garfield on a computer screen appears. It is just his face looking straight forward. A cursor is a few centimeters away. Under Garfield text states as follows: “you are not immune to propaganda) Narration: 2. Warn friends and family about fake treatments. Don’t shame people but be honest and clear about your concerns. Image: A women with dark hair in moon buns and brown skin speaks to a man with light skin and freckles. She looks concerned, and he looks confused, holding a tablet in his hands. Behind them is living room furniture.
Narration: 3. The modern medical system has its problems but if anyone tries selling you something that “doctors are hiding from you” it's probably quackery. Image: Rebecca wearing the same outfit as Fred from scooby doo, holds a mask in her hands. She faces a human sized duck, who is tied up and glaring at her, wearing the rest of the costume to which the mask belongs. Rebecca Dialogue: “Just as I suspected…”
Narration: 4. If you see an obvious scam online, report it! Or draw it into your comic on medical scams. In parentheses under the box, text reads as follows: “no really, this is based on a real tiktok” Image: A phone is pictured showing tiktok. On the screen is a woman with light skin and red hair hugging a large oak tree. The text says “tree vibrations for health” at the top and “health secrets at the bottom”

Citations:

  1. Kang L, Pedersen N. Quackery : A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. Workman Publishing; 2017.
  2. Dotinga R. The lethal legacy of early 20th-century radiation quackery. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/the-lethal-legacy-of-early-20th-century-radiation-quackery/2020/02/14/ed1fd724-37c9-11ea-bf30-ad313e4ec754_story.html. Published February 14, 2020. Accessed March 29, 2024.
  3. The worrying return of a nasty virus: Better awareness and access are needed to rebuild measles vaccination rates. Financial Times. January 29, 2024:22.
  4. Rogers K. Phrenology | History, Theory, & Pseudoscience | Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Published March 14, 2024. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/phrenology

 

 

 

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