Research ethics

Extremists silenced institutions and scientists for years, but researchers are now willing to speak up for good practice and valuable results

Blog discussions of flaws spur publishers to effect more changes and retractions, says Paul Brookes

Researcher warns of ‘developing credibility crisis’ in reflection on retracted paper

Editors unsure of whether to issue retraction, correction or expression of concern, ethics expert says

More than 50 universities have received funding from the UK’s national laboratory for nuclear weapons since 2010, according to a new study.

The government aims to use the high status of UK science to put pressure on other countries to reduce their reliance on animal research.

Addressing global problems should be the academy’s raison d’être, argues Nicholas Maxwell

Roger Jeffery on the difficulties of achieving equity in authorship in multinational teams

The late public health specialist Patricia Buffler is alleged to have had conflicts of interest

Suggested changes to ‘common rule’ raise issues on research with human subjects

Studies based on ‘misleading literature’ may have to be revised or retracted, claims Loughborough scientist

Brian Martin suggests how junior researchers can fight against the well-kept secret of academic exploitation

The government doesn’t need to resort to violence to ensure foreign scholars’ compliance, argues Erin Jessee

A list of recommendations on improving management of animal research at Imperial College London should “resonate” across the UK, their authors say

In the case of Rwanda, it is wrong to argue that only academics working outside the country are capable of critical comment, says Phil Clark

Corruption in the academy is being challenged by a ‘clean universities’ ranking and the power of press coverage, says Alina Mungiu-Pippidi

A failed dealer used his insider status to research drugs, violence and the American Dream

To avoid conflicts of interest, academic research must be transparent and independently funded, says Cary Nelson

Akira Orimo and Michael Lisanti absolved from suspicion of research irregularities

A university has asked for a journal paper to be retracted after an investigation found no evidence that the study it described had been carried out.

Organometallics and University of Western Australia are reviewing article containing instruction to ‘make up’ data

The number of scientific procedures started on animals in the UK has risen sharply, increasing by 8 per cent.

Website dedicated to uncovering academic misconduct goes global

Reassure junior researchers but make senior scientists know they’re being watched, scholar argues

Leaders lead, not their brains, argue Dirk Lindebaum and Mike Zundel

When anthropologists pointed out that cultural factors impeded tropical disease treatment campaigns, some fellow scientists reacted with outrage

The University of Glasgow has finally confirmed that a former professor was found guilty of falsifying data in five papers by an investigation that ended last August.

The excuses academics use to explain away fraudulent research results

Lab audits could demonstrate integrity, 3rd World Conference on Research Integrity hears. By Elizabeth Gibney

Germany and Eastern Europe rocked by string of high-profile cases within their governments. Paul Jump reports

By Scott Jaschik, for Inside Higher Ed

Editors have noted a “certain level of sloppiness” creeping into research papers, the executive editor of the Nature Publishing Group has said.

But investigation finds that practice ‘did not always meet’ expected standards

Rather than the academy relaxing its ethical standards, perhaps areas of the media need to raise their game, argues Keith Richards

Critic says Nature Materials is breaking its own rules

Essex scholar raises fears over peer review integrity

The LSE’s complaints about being kept in the dark about undercover reporting in North Korea are peevish, Tim Luckhurst argues

Cardiff calls time on anonymous allegations of past misconduct in dean’s lab. Paul Jump reports

We must hold up a mirror to scientific peer review if we are to stamp out fraud and uphold the discipline’s reputation, argues Philip Moriarty

Cardiff University’s dean of medicine has been cleared of research misconduct but the institution has found a former member of his lab guilty of image falsification in four papers.

Canadian human-rights case highlights disquiet at practices of Beijing-funded centres up on foreign campuses

Universities should vet research outputs before they get to the publishing (and scandal) stage, say Roger Watson and Mark Hayter

‘Common principles’ plan aims to protect research from risk-averse committees. Paul Jump reports

A feud at the heart of the discipline is undermining efforts to build a unified science of humanity, warns Camilla Power

A disastrous open-access policy lashes the promise of the digital age to an outmoded buggy of a model, laments Martin McQuillan

A series of high-profile research scandals within social psychology have led to unjustified attacks on the whole academic discipline. Wolfgang Stroebe and Miles Hewstone declare that the majority must not suffer for a tiny minority’s misconduct

Universities and research institutes that do not investigate research misconduct properly could have their research council funding removed.

Religious sense ‘cover-up’ in emphasis on embryonic work

Critics say university’s announcement should have gone out to peer review, not a press conference

Retiree challenges UEA v-c in tribunal hearing over FoI requests. David Matthews reports

The government has agreed to introduce an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act to prevent the premature disclosure of research data.

Professor says he was suspended by Sheffield for mentioning a touchy subject. Paul Jump writes

Research misconduct accounts for a much higher proportion of retractions in biomedical literature than previously believed, a new study has concluded.

A renowned immunologist whose life was turned upside down when it emerged that one of his postdoctoral researchers had falsified experimental results tells Paul Jump that the sector needs a culture change if it is to fulfil its duty to expose research misconduct

Unlike our major competitors, the UK has avoided a major research misconduct scandal over the past decade, but unless the government and the academy shake off their complacency, we won’t be ready when it is our turn to suffer, argues Michael Farthing

Research funders’ long-awaited “concordat” on research integrity deliberately steers clear of “heavy-handed regulation”, one of its authors has said.

The UK Research Integrity Office has welcomed calls for it to be placed at the centre of a toughened research integrity oversight regime in the UK.

Bullying and fear of being fired may deter staff from lifting lid on scientific misconduct. Jack Grove writes

Research misconduct is “alive and well” at UK universities, the British Medical Journal has claimed.