Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ 85724-5044, USA.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2010 Dec;16(4):639-67. doi: 10.1007/s11948-010-9201-y. Epub 2010 Jun 22.
Digital imaging has provided scientists with new opportunities to acquire and manipulate data using techniques that were difficult or impossible to employ in the past. Because digital images are easier to manipulate than film images, new problems have emerged. One growing concern in the scientific community is that digital images are not being handled with sufficient care. The problem is twofold: (1) the very small, yet troubling, number of intentional falsifications that have been identified, and (2) the more common unintentional, inappropriate manipulation of images for publication. Journals and professional societies have begun to address the issue with specific digital imaging guidelines. Unfortunately, the guidelines provided often do not come with instructions to explain their importance. Thus they deal with what should or should not be done, but not the associated 'why' that is required for understanding the rules. This article proposes 12 guidelines for scientific digital image manipulation and discusses the technical reasons behind these guidelines. These guidelines can be incorporated into lab meetings and graduate student training in order to provoke discussion and begin to bring an end to the culture of "data beautification".
数字成像为科学家们提供了新的机会，使他们能够使用过去难以或不可能采用的技术来获取和处理数据。由于数字图像比胶片图像更容易操作，因此出现了新的问题。科学界越来越关注的一个问题是，数字图像没有得到足够的妥善处理。这个问题有两个方面：（1）已经发现了极少数但令人不安的故意伪造行为；（2）更常见的是为了发表而无意地、不适当地对图像进行操作。期刊和专业协会已经开始用特定的数字成像指南来解决这个问题。不幸的是，提供的指南往往没有说明其重要性的说明。因此，它们涉及的是应该做什么或不应该做什么，而不是理解规则所需的相关“为什么”。本文提出了 12 条科学数字图像操作指南，并讨论了这些指南背后的技术原因。这些指南可以纳入实验室会议和研究生培训中，以引发讨论，并开始结束“美化数据”的文化。
