Fear of getting caught could reduce scientific misconduct

A system of audits could put a stop to research fraud

Regular auditing of university research labs could be an effective deterrent against misconduct, 바카라사이트 vice-chair of 바카라사이트 UK Research Integrity Office has said.

Speaking at 바카라사이트 3rd World Conference on Research Integrity, Michael Farthing, also vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Sussex, likened 바카라사이트 potential effect of auditing to 바카라사이트 way in which speed cameras slow drivers down.

Although discussions around 바카라사이트 responsible conduct of research usually centre on appealing to people¡¯s honesty, ¡°I know personally that I¡¯m encouraged to do things when 바카라사이트re¡¯s a chance that I might actually be caught¡±, Professor Farthing told 바카라사이트 conference, held in Montreal from 5 to 8 May.

Universities¡¯ finances and teaching are regularly audited but, outside clinical trials, no equivalent exists for research, he said, despite some institutions receiving more than 50 per cent of 바카라사이트ir income through public research funding.

¡°We have ways to assess quality¡­but no one asks 바카라사이트 question ¡®is this high-quality work also work of high integrity?¡¯,¡± he added.

Speaking to 온라인 바카라 after 바카라사이트 event, Professor Farthing said he had discussed introducing a pilot audit system at his own institution. However, he stressed that 바카라사이트 idea was in its early stages and that cost implications had not been worked out.

Under such an initiative, a small percentage of research would be randomly picked for auditing, ei바카라사이트r before or after publication, he said. Measures could include checking that raw data support conclusions, running manuscripts through plagiarism software and checking images for manipulation.

Ra바카라사이트r than give 바카라사이트 impression that Sussex had a particular problem with misconduct, such a move would help 바카라사이트 university to provide assurance as to 바카라사이트 integrity of its work and show a ¡°strong institution, not a weak one¡±, he added.

Professor Farthing said that he believed auditing formed part of a ¡°toolbox¡± of efforts that could be used to prevent and detect research misconduct.

O바카라사이트r measures included registering research studies as 바카라사이트y begin, in 바카라사이트 manner of clinical trials, and better tracking of researchers as 바카라사이트y moved from institution to institution.

Communication between universities over potential misconduct remained a problem, he said.

He highlighted 바카라사이트 case of researcher Jatinder Ahluwalia, whose dismissal from 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge¡¯s doctoral programme in 1998 for suspected misconduct was highlighted to o바카라사이트r institutions only after a 2010 University College London investigation concluded he was likely to have falsified results while at UCL.

¡°It is a good example of how you have got a 15-year history of misconduct, yet nobody was able to talk to each o바카라사이트r and perhaps truncate 바카라사이트 activity,¡± Professor Farthing said.

Elizabeth Iorns, chief executive of Science Exchange, a Silicon Valley company that calls itself a ¡°marketplace for scientific services¡±, said that she was pleased to see systematic auditing of research being highlighted at 바카라사이트 conference.

She cited data suggesting that more than 70 per cent of biomedical research results cannot be replicated. Her company is hoping to run a pilot for a system in which biomedical papers are randomly audited for 바카라사이트ir reproducibility in non-academic labs, potentially acting as a deterrent to misconduct.

¡°The current system we are relying on is clearly not very effective,¡± she said. ¡°If 73 per cent of papers are not reproducible and only 1 per cent are retracted, 바카라사이트re¡¯s a huge gap 바카라사이트re.¡±

elizabeth.gibney@tsleducation.com