Avoiding Research Misconduct

1. Avoiding Research Misconduct Center for AIDS Research, Mentoring Program Greta W. SchnetzlerChief Campus Counsel Theresa O’Lonergan Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer

2. Office of Research Integrity “ORI” The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) oversees and directs Public Health Service (PHS) research integrity activities on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services with the exception of the regulatory research integrity activities of the Food and Drug Administration.Organizationally, ORI is located within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) within Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (OS) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). • https://ori.hhs.gov/ • Extensive resources for training your research teams on issues of research integrity. Many excellent interactive tools and learning modules. Avoiding Research Misconduct

3. Office of Research Integrity “ORI” ORI carries out its responsibility by: • Developing policies, procedures and regulations related to the detection, investigation, and prevention of research misconduct and the responsible conduct of research; • Reviewing and monitoring research misconduct investigations conducted by applicant and awardee institutions, intramural research programs, and the Office of Inspector General in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); • Recommending research misconduct findings and administrative actions to the Assistant Secretary for Health for decision, subject to appeal; Avoiding Research Misconduct

4. Office of Research Integrity “ORI” ORI provides assistance by: • Implementing activities and programs to teach the responsible conduct of research, promote research integrity, prevent research misconduct, and improve the handling of allegations of research misconduct; • Conducting policy analyses, evaluations and research to build the knowledge base in research misconduct, research integrity, and prevention and to improve HHS research integrity policies and procedures; • Administering programs for: maintaining institutional assurances, responding to allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers, approving intramural and extramural policies and procedures, and responding to Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests. Avoiding Research Misconduct

5. Definition of Research Misconduct Research misconduct means fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. (a) Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.(b) 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.(c) Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.(d) Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion Avoiding Research Misconduct

6. UCSF Policies on Research Misconduct Quality research requires adherence to the highest standards of integrity in proposing, conducting and reporting research.  • Integrity of Research Academic Administrative Policy (100-29) http://policies.ucsf.edu/policy/100-29 • Integrity of Research Procedures http://academicaffairs.ucsf.edu/academic-personnel/media/integrityofresearchproc.pdf Avoiding Research Misconduct

7. Who makes reports of research misconduct? • Principal Investigators who suspect someone on their team • Peer reviewers who spot problems in publications or grant proposals • Colleagues at other institutions • Collaborators or members of the research team who object to what they feel is unethical behavior • Employees who feel mistreated • Anonymous whistleblowers • Clare Francis Avoiding Research Misconduct

8. “Clare Francis” Clare Francis is a pseudonym used since 2010 for hundreds of whistleblower allegations sent to the editors of scientific journals that call attention to suspected cases of plagiarism and fabricated or duplicated figures • Francis, whose real identity, gender, and occupation remain unknown (may be more than one individual), is notorious among journal editors as a relentless whistleblower. However, she has referred to herself as an “attentive reader.” • In e-mails alerting editors to possible problems in published papers, she most often details evidence of tampering in figures, including duplication, rotations, and mirror images. Avoiding Research Misconduct

9. What happens when a complaint of research misconduct is received? • Sequestration of records • Inquiry • Investigation by a faculty ad hoc committee • Much time and effort by PI and members of research team in gathering information and participating in interviews • Research may be stalled, experiments may have to be repeated • Publication may be delayed • Overall lab productivity is negatively affected Avoiding Research Misconduct

10. What happens when there is a finding of research misconduct? • Withdrawal of publications, correction of the scientific record • Institutional discipline • Report to ORI, which may initiate its own investigation • Ultimately may be suspended or barred from any PHS research • Can be career-ending Presentation Title and/or Sub Brand Name Here

11. Plagiarism / Self-Plagiarism Sloppy practices can lead to problems: • Understand the definitions (www.plagiarism.org; http://ori.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/plagiarism.pdf ) • Avoid use of “placeholders” • Use standard citation and paraphrasing even when referencing your own work • Ask yourself if article as a whole represents original work that contributes something new to the field • Consider use of plagiarism detection tools • Allow adequate time for editorial review prior to submission Avoiding Research Misconduct

12. Re-use, Misuse, Manipulation of Images, Falsification • ORI has developed extensive forensic tools and techniques for identifying this kind of research misconduct. • Includes flipping, mirror images, manipulation in Photoshop, cut and paste, etc…. • “Clare Francis” has also reported cases involving this type of research misconduct • Use of placeholder images that make their way into the final publication Avoiding Research Misconduct

13. Online Learning module on image processing: Common Mistakes http://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/RIandImages/default.html • Selective enhancements • Cropping • Contrast/brightness adjustments • Color adjustments • Cloning objects into an image • Resizing Avoiding Research Misconduct

14. Fabrication of Data Includes reporting data for experiments never conducted, but also rounding, estimating or predicting outcomes based on initial or other work done. Avoiding Research Misconduct

15. Leadership – Giving Credit Authorship disputes are not research misconduct but they can negatively affect research productivity—Avoid such disputes by being proactive. • Set ground rules, principals and expectations for how authorship is to be determined and explain that at the outset of a project. • Understand standards in the field for establishing authorship credit and order • Follow ethical guidelines for dealing with credit for students and post-docs • Don’t bend the rules • Get credit by giving credit Avoiding Research Misconduct

16. ORI “The Lab” Video In "The Lab: Avoiding Research Misconduct," you become the lead characters in an interactive movie and make decisions about integrity in research that can have long-term consequences. The simulation addresses Responsible Conduct of Research topics such as avoiding research misconduct, mentorship responsibilities, handling of data, responsible authorship, and questionable research practices. • http://ori.hhs.gov/TheLab/TheLab.shtml Avoiding Research Misconduct

17. UCSF is driven by the idea that great breakthroughs are achieved when the best research, the best education and the best patient care converge.