Evaluating the oversight of scientific misconduct.
The Office of Research Integrity has proposed a new definition of scientific misconduct that will substantively reduce the federal government's role of oversight of scientific practices. The standard is being changed despite the lack of evidence about the effects of current policies or understanding of why research misconduct occurs, how it can be detected and prevented, and the nature and effectiveness of sanctions. Given this lack of knowledge and the perception that the integrity of science is falling, we believe it would be unwise for the academic and scientific community to adopt this new standard.
Redman
Barbara K
BK
Department of Medical Ethics, University of Pennsylvania, 3401 Market Street, Suite 320, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3308, USA. ae9080@wayne.edu
Merz
Jon F
JF
D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards; D036262:Empirical Research; D035082:Federal Government; D033161:Government Regulation; D006805:Human Experimentation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D011050:Policy Making; D015871:Scientific Misconduct / Q000145:classification / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012926:Social Control, Formal; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States; D018172:United States Office of Research Integrity