Which of the following is true regarding research misconduct Citi training?

12.  Does the “Students in Research” CITI course fulfill the requirements for students working on research studies? Answer. No.  All personnel need to complete the institutionally required courses.

This policy applies to federally-funded research and proposals submitted to Federal agencies for research funding. It thus applies to research conducted by the Federal agencies, conducted or managed for the Federal government by contractors, or supported by the Federal government and performed at research institutions, including universities and industry.

The policy establishes the scope of the Federal government's interest in the accuracy and reliability of the research record and the processes involved in its development. It consists of a definition of research misconduct and basic guidelines for the response of Federal agencies and research institutions to allegations of research misconduct.

The Federal agencies that conduct or support research will implement this policy within one year of the date of publication of this notice. An NSTC interagency research misconduct policy implementation group has been established to help achieve uniformity across the Federal agencies in implementation of the research misconduct policy. In some cases, this may require agencies to amend or replace extant regulations addressing research misconduct. In other cases, agencies may need to put new regulations in place or implement the policy through administrative mechanisms.

The policy addresses research misconduct. It does not supersede government or institutional policies or procedures for addressing other forms of misconduct, such as the unethical treatment of human research subjects or mistreatment of laboratory animals used in research, nor does it supersede criminal or other civil law. Agencies and institutions may address these other issues as authorized by law and as appropriate to their missions and objectives.

 

Summary of Comments

The Office of Science and Technology Policy received 237 comments on the proposed Federal Research Misconduct Policy. Letters were signed by individuals, and by representatives of universities, university associations, Federal agencies, and private entities. Comments are available for review. Comments that resulted in a modification of the policy are summarized below. A section that addresses other questions raised by the comments follows the summary of modifications.

 

Uniform Federal Policy

Issue: Many comments recommended various mechanisms to ensure uniform implementation of this policy.

Response: An NSTC research misconduct policy implementation group has been formed to foster uniformity among the agencies in their implementation of the policy.

 

Section I: Research Misconduct Defined

Issue: A number of comments suggested that the definition of fabrication be modified to read as follows: ``Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.'' (Italicized words are suggested addition.) This change is to clarify that the raw data collected or generated in the research process can be fabricated just as can the results of the research.

Response: This change was accepted.

Issue: A number of commenters interpreted the definition of plagiarism to imply that using material gathered during the peer review process was acceptable as long as it is cited.

Response: The policy is intended to address the problem of reviewers who take material from the peer review process and use it without attribution. This constitutes plagiarism. We have deleted the phrase ``including those obtained through confidential review of others' research proposals and manuscripts'' to avoid any appearance of condoning a breach of confidentiality in the peer review process.

Issue: Despite general support for the rationale for the phrase ``does not include honest error or honest differences of opinion,'' several comments requested various clarifications.

Response: This phrase is intended to clarify that simple errors or mere differences of judgment or opinion do not constitute research misconduct. The phrase does not create a separate element of proof. Institutions and agencies are not required to disprove possible ``honest error or differences of opinion.'' The phrase has been retained, with the deletion of the second "honest" of the phrase as redundant.

Issue: A number of comments raised questions about what fields of research are included in the definition of research. For example, some readers were unsure about the applicability of [[Page 76261]] the policy as written to medicine or the social sciences.

Response: The policy applies to research funded by the Federal agencies. In order to be responsive to specific inquiries about what fields of research are covered by the policy, an illustrative, non-exclusive list of selected fields of research is now included in the policy itself.

 

Section II: Findings of Research Misconduct

Issue: Several comments stressed the need for greater precision in the phrase "significant departure from accepted practices of the scientific community.''

Response: This phrase is intended to make it clear that behavior alleged to involve research misconduct should be assessed in the context of community practices, meaning practices that are generally understood by the community but that may not be in a written form. For clarification purposes and in order to be more comprehensive, the term ``scientific community'' has been modified to read "relevant research community.'' The policy is not intended to ratify those "accepted practices'' but rather to indicate that these may vary among different communities.

 

Issue: Several comments requested clarification regarding the level of intent that is required to be shown in order to reach a finding of research misconduct.

Response: Under the policy, three elements must be met in order to establish a finding of research misconduct. One of these elements is a showing that the subject had the requisite level of intent to commit the misconduct. The intent element is satisfied by showing that the misconduct was committed ``intentionally, or knowingly, or recklessly.'' Only one of these needs to be demonstrated in order to satisfy this element of a research misconduct finding.

 

Section III: Responsibilities of Federal Agencies and Research Institutions

Issue: Some comments indicated that this section could be incorrectly construed to require appeal of the agency misconduct finding back to the institution.

Response: The policy has been clarified to affirm that each agency should establish an appeals process for persons found by the agency to have engaged in research misconduct. The subject of the agency finding cannot appeal the agency decision back to the institution, although some institutions do offer an appeal of the institutional finding at the institutional level.

 

Section IV: Guidelines for Fair and Timely Procedures

Issue: The comments indicated some uncertainty about to whom the actions section applied.

Response: The actions delineated are those that may be taken by the Federal agencies if research misconduct has been shown to have occurred. The section has thus been renamed "Agency Administrative Actions.''

 

Issue: The suggestion was made that publications based on false or fabricated data, or including such data, should be required to be officially withdrawn.

Response: Correction of the research record has been added to the list of possible actions to be taken if a researcher is found to have engaged in research misconduct.

 

Issue: The suggestion was made that safeguards for informants and subjects of allegations be made more explicit.

Response: More explicit safeguards have been added to the policy for both informants and subjects.

 

Other Comments

Several comments and clarifications are addressed in the following question and answer format rather than through modification of the policy.

Will agencies be required to announce the details of their implementation plans? Yes. Agencies will announce the details of their implementation plans, including those plans that do not require formal rulemaking.

What types of misconduct are covered by this policy? This policy is limited to addressing misconduct related to the conduct and reporting of research, as distinct from misconduct that occurs in the research setting but that does not affect the integrity of the research record, such as misallocation of funds, sexual harassment, and discrimination. This policy does not limit agencies or research institutions from addressing these other issues under appropriate policies, rules, regulations, or laws. In addition, should the behavior associated with research misconduct also trigger the applicability of other laws (including criminal law) this policy is not intended to limit agencies or research institutions from pursuing these matters under separate authorities.

Does this policy address misrepresentation of a researcher's credentials or publications? Yes, misrepresentation of a researcher's qualifications or ability to perform the research in grant applications or similar submissions may constitute falsification or fabrication in proposing research.

Are authorship disputes covered by this policy? Authorship disputes are not covered by this policy unless they involve plagiarism. Does research misconduct include the mistreatment of human subjects or animals in research? This policy addresses activity that occurs in the course of human subjects or animal research that involves research misconduct as defined by the policy. Thus, falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism that occurs during the course of human or animal research is addressed by this policy. However, other issues concerning the ethical treatment of human or animal subjects are covered under separate procedures and are not affected by this policy.

Why doesn't the policy provide immunity for research misconduct investigative committees? Providing immunity to research misconduct investigative committees and other participants in institutional and agency research misconduct proceedings would require significant statutory or regulatory initiatives which will be explored separately from this policy.

Aren't there circumstances when omission of data or results is appropriate? A number of commenters suggested that there are circumstances when it may be appropriate to omit data in reporting research results. It is not the intent of this policy to call accepted practices into question. However, the omission of data is considered falsification when it misleads the reader about the results of the research.

Does this policy supersede institutional policies regarding research misconduct? Non-federal research institutions have authority to establish policies for research and employee misconduct that serve their own institutional purposes. However, the Federal research misconduct policy (as implemented by the agencies) provides the relevant guidance to institutions for purposes of Federal action. Does this policy supersede other agency policies, procedures, rules, and regulations? Agencies must comply with all relevant Federal personnel policies and laws in responding to allegations of research misconduct. However, personnel actions may not adequately protect the public from the consequences of falsified, fabricated or plagiarized research. For example, Federal personnel policies may permit termination of an employee who commits research misconduct, but may not address the problem of research misconduct or seek to prevent it from recurring. The administrative actions available under the Federal research misconduct policy, such as debarment from federal funding, supervision and certification of research, and correction [[Page 76262]] of the literature, are designed to specifically address the problems raised by research misconduct.

Must all three elements in the Finding of Research Misconduct section be present for there to be a finding of research misconduct? Yes.

Who makes the final determination about whether or not there is a finding of research misconduct? The Federal agency will make the final decision about whether to make an agency finding of research misconduct. However, within its own internal jurisdiction, a non-Federal research institution may establish policies and take actions as appropriate to its needs and as consistent with other relevant laws. Shouldn't the burden of proof be more stringent, e.g., require "clear and convincing evidence" to support a finding of research misconduct? While much is at stake for a researcher accused of research misconduct, even more is at stake for the public when a researcher commits research misconduct. Since "preponderance of the evidence" is the uniform standard of proof for establishing culpability in most civil fraud cases and many federal administrative proceedings, including debarment, there is no basis for raising the bar for proof in misconduct cases which have such a potentially broad public impact. It is recognized that non-Federal research institutions have the discretion to apply a higher standard of proof in their internal misconduct proceedings. However, when their standard differs from that of the Federal government, research institutions must report their findings to the appropriate Federal agency under the applicable Federal government standard, i.e., preponderance.

 

Why don't the Federal agencies conduct all inquiries and investigations? Research institutions are much closer to what is going on in their own institutions and are in a better position to conduct inquiries and investigations than are the Federal agencies. While the Federal agencies could have taken on the task of investigating all allegations of research misconduct, or established a separate agency for this purpose, this would have involved a substantial new Federal bureaucracy, which is not thought desirable. An agency may take steps, as appropriate, should a research institution demonstrate a lack of commitment to the policy's guidelines.

 

How will a lead agency be identified? If more than one Federal agency has jurisdiction over allegations of research misconduct, those agencies should work together to designate a lead agency. What criteria will be used for selecting the research institution that will handle the response to the allegation of research misconduct? In most cases, agencies will rely on the researcher's home institution to respond to allegations of research misconduct. However, in cases where the subject has switched institutions, it may be more appropriate for the institution where the alleged research misconduct occurred to respond to the allegation. The institution where the questioned research was conducted may have better access to the evidence and witnesses and therefore will have the capability to undertake a more efficient and thorough response.

 

Shouldn't the policy be more explicit about time lines for a response to allegations of misconduct? In establishing reasonable time lines the Federal agencies must balance the interests of concluding the process expeditiously while ensuring it has been conducted fairly and thoroughly. This will allow flexibility for the research institutions while at the same time ensuring that the process does not extend for an unreasonably long period. Research institutions should have the option to request reasonable extensions of agency timelines in individual cases.

 

What can informants or subjects of allegations expect with regard to confidentiality? The policy strives for confidentiality for all involved to the extent consistent with a fair and thorough process and as allowed by law, including applicable Federal and state freedom of information and privacy laws.

 

Should the policy punish informants who act in bad faith or individuals who harass informants? The principal aim of this policy is to communicate to the research community those behaviors that constitute research misconduct and to take actions where research misconduct is found to have occurred. As employers and managers of the research, non-Federal research institutions may adopt policies to address the consequences of false, malicious, or capricious allegations and to respond to retaliation against informants. Agencies may also address this issue in their implementation of this policy.

 

How should the "seriousness" of the research misconduct be evaluated and how will this relate to any actions taken? In determining what action to take, agencies should fully consider the level of intent of the misconduct, the consequences of the behavior, and other aggravating and mitigating factors.

 

Next Steps

The Federal agencies have up to one year from the date of publication of this notice to implement the policy. An interagency implementation group has been established under the auspices of the National Science and Technology Council to assist agencies in their implementation process and to strive for the highest level of uniformity possible and as appropriate in their implementation plans.

Federal Policy on Research Misconduct \1\

I. Research \2\ Misconduct Defined

Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

\1\ No rights, privileges, benefits or obligations are created or abridged by issuance of this policy alone. The creation or abridgment of rights, privileges, benefits or obligations, if any, shall occur only upon implementation of this policy by the Federal agencies.

\2\ Research, as used herein, includes all basic, applied, and demonstration research in all fields of science, engineering, and mathematics. This includes, but is not limited to, research in economics, education, linguistics, medicine, psychology, social sciences, statistics, and research involving human subjects or animals.

Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.

Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.\3\

\3\ The research record is the record of data or results that embody the facts resulting from scientific inquiry, and includes, but is not limited to, research proposals, laboratory records, both physical and electronic, progress reports, abstracts, theses, oral presentations, internal reports, and journal articles.

Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion.

Which of the following is true regarding research misconduct?

Which of the following is true regarding the reporting of research results Citi quizlet?

Which of the following is considered research misconduct quizlet?

Which of the following is true regarding US federal research misconduct policy?