title: Research misconduct: A neglected plague.
abstract: Truthfulness and honesty are absolute essentials of research. But to sustain in the not-so-pleasant "publish-or-perish" environment and "cut-throat" competition to increase the credibility associated with one's name, many individual researchers as well as research groups are turning towards research misconduct and this plague is gradually reaching epidemic and pandemic proportions. This overview highlights the various types and means of research misconduct and gives suggestions aiming to curb this academic menace so that research sanctity and integrity can be preserved and scientific research does not get polluted by the dirt of misreported or fabricated data.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Swargiya Dadasaheb Kalmegh Smruti Dental College and Hospital, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Manjiri A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Deshmukh
authors.affiliation: Principal, Professor and Head, Department of Public Health Dentistry, ACPM Dental College and Hospital, Dhule, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Arun S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Dodamani
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University Dental College and Hospital, Sangli, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Mahesh R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Khairnar
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, ACPM Dental College and Hospital, Dhule, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Rahul G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Naik
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D006801:Humans; D015871:Scientific Misconduct