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CSE's White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications3.0 IDENTIFYING RESEARCH MISCONDUCT AND GUIDELINES FOR ACTION3.1 Description of Research MisconductAlthough no standard definition of research misconduct exists, and although new variations are unfortunately likely to arise as scientific methods progress, research misconduct generally falls into one of the following areas:
As a general guide, the term "research misconduct" applies to any action that involves mistreatment of research subjects or purposeful manipulation of the scientific record such that it no longer reflects observed truth. A Council of Science Editors Consensus Conference on Misconduct in Biomedical Research in October 1999 led to the following broad definition of misconduct: "Behaviour by a researcher, intentional or not, that falls short of good ethical and scientific standard." This section attempts to objectively define research practices that do not meet these subjective standards. The concepts of negligence and deceit are central to the definition of research misconduct. Not every instance of harm to a research subject is necessarily the result of research misconduct. However, editors and others should consider research misconduct in circumstances where the harm occurs in the setting of or as a direct result of research practices that do not meet ethical norms or as a direct result of irresponsible behavior of the investigator. Similarly, not all inaccurate reports of data are the result of misconduct. For example, the Wellcome Trust, Britain's largest biomedical charity, specifically states that research misconduct does not include honest error or honest differences in the design, execution, interpretation, or judgment in evaluating research methods or results.1 Poor-quality research is not misconduct unless the investigators used poor-quality methods with the intention to deceive or without regard to the harm that might befall subjects. 3.1.1 Mistreatment of Research Subjects Researchers have an obligation to the subjects they study. These obligations apply whether the subjects are humans or animals and whether the entire organism is being studied or specimens are being taken. When research involves human subjects or their specimens, failure to adhere to the principles in the Declaration of Helsinki2 and to seek approval from and adhere to the ethical standards of the appropriate institutional or national committee on human experimentation is a serious form of scientific misconduct. For researchers who study animals, failure to follow institutional or national recommendations for the care and use of laboratory animals is also a type of research misconduct. The following are examples of actions that constitute mistreatment of research subjects:
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors addresses this last issue in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: "Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published." 3.1.2 Falsification and Fabrication of Data Perhaps the most blatant and easy to define (although not always easy to detect) form of research misconduct is when investigators fabricate or falsify data. Fabrication refers to the invention, recording, or reporting of false data. Falsification refers to the alteration of research materials, equipment, protocols, data, or results. Fabrication and falsification are 2 points along a spectrum, but both are serious forms of misconduct because they result in a scientific record that does not accurately reflect observed truth. Piracy is defined as the appropriation of ideas, data, or methods from others without adequate permission or acknowledgment. Again, deceit plays a central role in this form of misconduct. The intent is the untruthful portrayal of the ideas or methods as one's own. Plagiarism is a form of piracy that involves the use of text or other items (figures, images, tables) without permission or acknowledgment of the source of these materials. Plagiarism generally involves the use of materials from others but can apply to researchers duplicating their own previous reports without acknowledging that they are doing so (sometimes called self-plagiarism or duplicate publication). (Authorship: Christine Laine took the lead in writing this section of the white paper on behalf of the CSE Policy Committee. Members of the Policy Committee and the CSE Board of Directors reviewed and commented on it. This section was formally approved by the CSE Board of Directors on September 13, 2006.)
Resources and Case StudiesThe COPE Report 2000. Joint Consensus Conference on Misconduct in Biomedical Research: 28th and 29th October 1999: Consensus Statement. Available at: www.publicationethics.org.uk/reports/2000/2000pdf5.pdf. Accessed April 17, 2006.International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. Available at: http://www.icmje.org. Accessed April 17, 2006.
University of Texas. Copyright Crash Course. Available at: http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm. Return to the Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journals table of contents page.
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