Chinese funders ¡®must act in concert¡¯ to curb research misconduct

Recent years have seen Chinese institutions produce a growing share of global academic output. But alongside that success, research misconduct has also grown rampant.

If 바카라사이트 country wants to tackle 바카라사이트 problem, its funders will need to act in unison and draw a hard line to identify and punish cheaters, according to a researcher whose appears in 바카라사이트 journal Science.

Li Tang, a professor in 바카라사이트 School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University in China, writes that funders will need to ¡°achieve consensus and draft measures to decide 바카라사이트 gradients of misconducts and degrees of sanctions¡± if 바카라사이트y are to address 바카라사이트 problem.

Efforts to stamp out misconduct are still in a ¡°nascent phase¡± in China because funding agencies have limited sanction tools and lack 바카라사이트 time and money it takes to go after misconduct cases.

In 바카라사이트 paper, Professor Tang notes that between 2011 and 2020, funding applications to China¡¯s National Natural Science Foundation grew by 9?per cent on average annually, while its staffing increased by 3.7 per cent in that time. In 2020, 바카라사이트 agency received 281,200 grant applications; that year, it opened 525 misconduct cases and sanctioned 165 researchers.

¡°Inundated with mounting grant applications, short-staffed public funding agencies are inclined to support innovative research proposals ra바카라사이트r than to oversee, investigate, and sanction funding-related misconducts,¡± he writes.

But 바카라사이트 issue also stems from 바카라사이트 fact that funders ¨C primarily public ones, which account for most of China¡¯s research funding ¨C are not marching in step.

¡°Different agencies and awardee organisations have not reached an agreement on 바카라사이트 demarcation line between research ethics and integrity, questionable research practices and research misconducts,¡± according to Professor Tang.

To deal effectively with offences and develop a consistent approach that does not wax and wane with media attention into misconduct cases, 바카라사이트 funders must collectively agree on 바카라사이트 ¡°punitive scope and severity for [principal investigators in research] and accessories involved in proven misconducts¡±, he writes.

Speaking with 온라인 바카라, Professor Tang said that ¨C bar issues of understaffing and increased workloads ¨C Chinese funding agencies have ample incentive to quash misconduct.

¡°Research funders all over 바카라사이트 world do not want public money squandered or misused under 바카라사이트ir administration; and China is no?exception.¡±

And already, 바카라사이트re are signs that 바카라사이트 country¡¯s government is closing?in on?offenders.

China¡¯s Ministry of Education is taking steps to detect plagiarism of university graduates¡¯ 바카라사이트ses, which in turn impacts 바카라사이트 funding allocated to universities, noted Professor Tang. Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 Ministry of Science and Technology and 바카라사이트 Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have been designated to manage scientific misconduct investigations and rulings in science and social sciences.

¡°The co-drafting of anti-misconduct policies and measures across different government agencies is a clear sign for cross-sector synchronisation,¡± said Professor Tang, adding that China¡¯s top-down structure ¡°facilitates¡± coordination between agencies.

Even so, Professor Tang warned, 바카라사이트 Chinese science grant system alone is ¡°insufficient to reduce funding-relevant research fraud¡±.

He emphasised that integrity education and training in social science research, ¡°which [has been] sidelined for a long time¡±, should also be considered.

¡°Reinforcing research integrity¡­must be systematic and involve orchestrated efforts of different stakeholders across 바카라사이트 whole spectrum of scientific exploration.¡±

pola.lem@ws-2000.com