General Information about Scientific Misconduct
Scientific research has been established within the highest ethical and scholarly standards. Due to these rigorous codes of conduct, academic journals only allow a small percentage of work to be published; journal rejection rates could be as high as 90-95 percent. Any violation of these rules within academia is called ‘scientific misconduct.’ One definition of scientific misconduct states that it is the intentional distortion or deception of the research process by the fabrication of data, text, hypothesis, methods, etc. This deception can be caused by fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism. Fabrication is when someone invents or makes up any portion of their work within academia. Falsification is when someone manipulates any portion of their work to which the work is not accurately represented by the records. Lastly, plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. In this portion of the BPS Website, one can explore multiple instances of scientific misconduct.
10 Greatest Cases of Fraud in University Research (Online Universities, February 27, 2012)
A discussion on the reliability of scientific research (SCOPE, May 5, 2014)
A Sharp Rise in Retractions Prompts Calls for Reform (The New York Times, April 16, 2012)
Accuracy, precision, and reliability of chemical measurements in natural products research (ScienceDirect, January 2011)
Case of two KU scientists illustrates growing problem of research fraud (The Kansas City Star, January 28, 2012)
Accurate science or accessible science in the media – why not both? (The Conversation, June 1, 2016)
Correction and retraction policy (Nature Research, 2020)
Fraud and Misconduct in Science: the Stem Cell Seduction (Netherlands Heart Journal, January 2009)
Guide to Science Information Resources: What is a Retraction? (Florida Atlantic University, 2018)
How can we control fake data from our research journals. It will be really a great threat for scientific community in near future. (Research Gate, November 3, 2012)
How reliable are scientific studies? (Cambridge University, October 2010)
Replication Crisis (London Review of Books, October 2021)
Researchers Behaving Badly: Known Frauds Are “the Tip of the Iceberg“ (Leapsmag, October 19, 2018)
Retraction or correction? (COPE, 2011)
Scientific evidence: What is it and how can we trust it? (Phys, July 4, 2013)
Scientific fraud: Definitions, policies, and implications for nursing research (Science Direct, June 1991)
Scientific Misconduct and Medical Journals (JAMA Network, November 20, 2018)
Scientists Gone Rogue (Time Magazine, January 12, 2012)
Scientists Review Own Papers (The Scientist, October 3, 2012)
Technology has made it easier to fake scientific results. Is a cultural shift required to fix the problem? (Massive Science, January 23, 2020)
When Should a Paper be Retracted? (Enago Academy, May 27, 2020)