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Scientists admit misbehaving
June 16, 2005
Courtesy Nature
and World Science Staff
One third of U.S. scientists
who took part in an anonymous survey recently admitted to what could be considered dishonest research practices, a report says.
The report is published in a commentary in the June 9 issue of the research journal
Nature. It is the first large-scale analysis of scientists’ self-reported misbehaviour, according to
the journal.
The authors focused on not outright scientific fraud, such as faking results, but smaller
sins which—they said—are far more common, and dangerous.
“Historically, professionals and the public have focused on headline-grabbing cases of scientific misconduct, but we believe that researchers can no longer afford to ignore a wider range of questionable behaviour that threatens the integrity of science,” wrote the authors, including Brian C. Martinson of the HealthPartners Research Foundation, Minneapolis, Minn.
They reported the results of an anonymous survey of several thousand biomedical researchers funded by the National Institutes of
Health. Participants were asked to confess to a range of questionable practices
considered “sanctionable,” that is, acts which would normally get them into trouble with their institution or the
authorities if discovered.
A third of the respondents admitted to having committed at least one such deed within the last three
years.
The study found that 6 percent of respondents had failed to present data contradicting their own research,
15 percent ignored data on the basis of a gut feeling that it was wrong, and
15.5 percent had changed the design, methodology or results of a study in response to pressure from a funding source.
The authors argued that pressures on modern scientists, including competition and regulatory, social and managerial demands, create the circumstances for compromising integrity.
They said previous smaller studies have been too narrow in focus and that there is a need to look “beyond fabrication, falsification and plagiarism” to
other practices that threaten scientific integrity.
“Serious misbehaviour in research is important for many reasons, not least because it damages the reputation of, and undermines public support for, science,” they wrote.
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