The study, just published in the premier edition of the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, used focus groups and a Web-based survey to find out from researchers what kinds of behaviors they find most troubling, and how often they occur.
"We were a bit surprised when we first heard researchers reporting what they described as rather routine misbehaviors, but as our study went on we kept hearing the same stories, confirming that these kind of things are an everyday part of research," says co-author Raymond De Vries, Ph.D., associate professor of medical education and a member of the Bioethics Program at the University of Michigan.
The study used both qualitative and quantitative measures to ask those who know science best its researchers to describe the behaviors they regard as most threatening to the integrity of their work. These common problems fall into four categories:
Examples of misbehavior in these areas include such things as deciding what to do if one's own results can't be duplicated, and manipulation of the review system.
De Vries and his colleagues conducted six focus groups with a total of 51 researchers from major research universities. Part
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Contact: Mary Beth Reilly
reillymb@umich.edu
734-647-5014
University of Michigan Health System
6-Apr-2006