It’s Time for Action on Research Misconduct

Abstract

To the Editor: DuBois and Antes1 have chosen to address the problem of research misconduct by defining five dimensions of research ethics which can serve as the basis for establishing “a climate of research integrity.” This is a thoughtful contribution but is one more article in a literature which for more than 25 years has contained numerous studies and discussions of the problem from a variety of perspectives, but has offered no meaningful plans to address it. A Google Scholar search reveals that, between 2000 and 2017, 7,530 articles were published on research misconduct and 7,470 on scientific misconduct. Yet we remain without the semblance of a program of specific actions to address the serious problems of fabrication (lying), falsification (cheating), and plagiarism (stealing) that continue to plague science. The only organized attempt to create such a program was a predictably failed didactic effort, the mandated Responsible Conduct of Research course for trainees. Yet no other meaningful plan for addressing the problem has emerged. This was recently made obvious by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine report “Fostering Integrity in Research”2—the fifth report on this topic published in 28 years—in which Part 2, “Research Misconduct and Detrimental Research Practices,”2 concludes with a call for further study of the problem! Why has the scientific establishment failed to implement relatively obvious interventions, such as the assignment of true mentors to address the fear of failure in trainees, the effective protection of whistleblowers, and the application of meaningful penalties for guilty senior investigators?3 And why the continued call for more studies when the etiologies are apparent and potential remedies available? Donald S. Kornfeld, MDProfessor emeritus of psychiatry and special lecturer, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; [email protected]

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