Research and Publication Misconduct PDF

9/18/2014 RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION MISCONDUCT DR HO TZE MING Quality Assurance Unit Clinical Research Centre Ministry of Health Malaysia DISCLAIMER The following information a...

9/18/2014 RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION MISCONDUCT DR HO TZE MING Quality Assurance Unit Clinical Research Centre Ministry of Health Malaysia DISCLAIMER The following information are the personal views of the presenter and do not represent the views or opinions of the Ministry of Health Malaysia nor the National Clinical Research Center 1  9/18/2014 DEFINITION Research Ethics is about norms, values, right and wrong, good and bad, and what ought and ought not to be done in the context of research DEFINITION Research Misconduct is about the bad, wrong and what ought not to be done in the context of research Is not misconduct if due to honest error and carelessness 2  9/18/2014 PURPOSE The purpose of this presentation is to inform participants of the types of research and publication misconduct, their consequences and implications, and how to avoid such misconduct so that participants shall be better and ethical researchers. REFERENCES en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_ misconduct http://www.apa.org/research/r esponsible/misconduct/index. aspx http://research- ethics.net/topics/overview/ 3  9/18/2014 RESEARCH CYCLE Idea Plan Conduct Disseminate Report Analyze Misconduct can occur in each step of Follow-up the cycle TYPES OF MISCONDUCT Fabrication Falsification Plagiarism Violation of ethical standards regarding human and animal experiments Violation of local regulatory, national or institutional requirements Ghostwriting Unqualified authorship Suppression of data or findings 4  9/18/2014 FABRICATION Making up fake facts to support purpose of research, arguments, conclusions, etc Making up fake references to support arguments, discussions, etc Making up results and research data FABRICATION Photo manipulation to distort their meaning Adding shapes or color to original image Splicing together different images to represent a single experiment Changing colour, brightness and contrast of only a part of the image Removing part of original image to give a different perspective 5  9/18/2014 FALSIFICATION Manipulation of research materials, equipment, or processes or changing or omitting data or results such that research is not accurately reported Wrongly modify or misquote statements from well respected references PLAGIARISM The use of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit – Using other’s ideas and results and reporting or publishing as if investigator has done all the work under which the data was obtained – Reproducing Tables, Figures or Plates of others without giving credit, acknowledgement or permission 6  9/18/2014 CITATION PLAGIARISM Failure to acknowledge or credit other earlier discoverers A minor form is copying whole sentences or paragraphs from references or literature although credit is given SELF-PLAGIARISM Salami publication Multiple publications of the same content with different titles and/or indifferent journals Includes publishing the same article in a different language without stating the initial source of publication 7  9/18/2014 ETHICAL VIOLATIONS Failure to adhere to international standards and requirements for research involving human and animal subjects Failure to obtain ethical approval from the relevant authorities or committees REGULATORY VIOLATIONS Failure to obtain approval or adhere to local regulatory, national and institutional requirements for research E.g. failure to get approval to conduct release of living modified organisms E.g. failure to obtain approval to import and test experimental drug E.g. failure to obtain institutional approval to conduct research 8  9/18/2014 GHOSTWRITING Someone other than the named author(s) writes the manuscript for publication. Writer is not involved in the research and researcher(s) not involved in the writing. often done to mask incompetence of author(s) may mask influence or contributions of sponsors such as drug companies Usually involves element of financial fraud UNQUALIFIED AUTHORSHIP Conferring authorship to those who have not made substantial contribution to the research. – Senior researchers or heads of department who demands to be included – Junior researchers include senior researchers, without their knowledge, as authors to increase chances of acceptance for publication – Senior researchers agree to be included as authors so as to include chances of acceptance for publication 9  9/18/2014 SUPPRESSION OF DATA OR FINDINGS This is the failure to publish significant findings due to the results being adverse to the interests of the researcher, institution, or sponsor Includes selective dissemination of data or findings Suppression of data and findings itself may not be a misconduct unless there is a deliberate intention to deceive OFFICIAL CONSEQUENCE OF MISCONDUCT Letter of reprimand or termination of services More stringent approval process of research activities Independent certification of accuracy of reports or publications Totally or partially suspend a research grant; termination of research grant 10  9/18/2014 OFFICIAL CONSEQUENCE OF MISCONDUCT Bar or suspend from application of research grants for a specific period Require a correction to the research record Bar or suspend from participation in research activities as a investigator, reviewer, advisor or consultant, for a specific period of time Possible criminal sanctions PERSONAL CONSEQUENCE OF MISCONDUCT Loss of respect Loss of trust Retraction of publications Decreased acceptability of future reports or publications General suspicion of misconduct in future research activities Disassociation by other researchers Fined or jailed according to local laws 11  9/18/2014 IMPLICATIONS OF MISCONDUCT Falsified and fabricated findings can mislead other researchers resulting in loss and wastage of resources, time and finances Unethical research that imposes unnecessary and possibly fatal risks for human and animal subjects Misrepresentation of findings or suppression of some findings can result in harmful or useless treatments, products, devices or procedures being used by unsuspecting humans AVOIDANCE OF (ACCUSATION OF) MISCONDUCT Keep research records sufficient to reconstruct work done – Verify that work has been done – Avoids repeating what is already done – Verify who had contributed to the work 12  9/18/2014 AVOIDANCE OF (ACCUSATION OF) MISCONDUCT Know or comply with relevant regulations – Know what are the institutional and national regulations on research and adhere to those regulations – The existence of regulations in in specific areas is a sign of priority of those research areas and the regulations are to protect research subjects, researchers, and institutions AVOIDANCE OF AVOIDANCE OF(ACCUSATION MISCONDUCTOF) MISCONDUCT Encourage open communications – Unless there are compelling reasons not to do so, sharing of ideas and findings, even before publication, can often benefit all parties – Agree on roles, responsibilities, authorship, intellectual property rights before commencement of research to avoid disputes later on. 13  9/18/2014 AVOIDANCE OF AVOIDANCE OF(ACCUSATION MISCONDUCTOF) MISCONDUCT Give credit where it is due – Give appropriate credit for contributions – Credit includes acknowledgement, authorship, awards, financial rewards, etc. – Credit given should be proportionate to contribution – Receiving credit also implies responsibility for the work or contribution – Punishment for misconduct shall be shared appropriate by those responsible AVOIDANCE OF AVOIDANCE OF(ACCUSATION MISCONDUCTOF) MISCONDUCT Mentoring – Experienced researchers should guide those new to research – Experienced researchers should approach mentoring not as a burden but as an honour – Inexperienced researchers should seek guidance from those with experience; seeking guidance should not be seen as a sign of ignorance but rather as a positive move to increase knowledge One can always seek new information alone but good mentors make the journey shorter and more rewarding 14  9/18/2014 AVOIDANCE OF AVOIDANCE OF(ACCUSATION MISCONDUCTOF) MISCONDUCT If in doubt, ASK If you are guilty of misconduct, STOP, admit it, and take corrective actions If you witness misconduct, ACT EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT 15  9/18/2014 EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT 16  9/18/2014 EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT 17  9/18/2014 EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT 18  9/18/2014 EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT 19  9/18/2014 EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT 20  9/18/2014 SUMMARY Participants have been informed about the types of research misconduct, their consequences and avoidance. Give proper attention to these issues and you will be a better and ethical researcher 21