Assessing the Seriousness of Research Misconduct: Considerations for Sanction Assignment

Author: KERÄNEN, LISA

Source: Accountability in Research: Policies and Quality Assurance, Volume 13, Number 2, April-June 2006 , pp. 179-205(27)

Publisher: Taylor and Francis Ltd

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Abstract:

Federal and institutional policies recommend the criterion of “seriousness” as a guide for sanction assignment in cases where researchers have been found to have committed research misconduct. Discrepancies in assessments of seriousness for similar acts of misconduct suggest the need to clarify what might be meant by the seriousness of research misconduct and how the criterion can be used to assign sanctions. This essay demonstrates how determinations of seriousness can differ depending on the set of ethical appeals employed and argues that an expanded lexicon for talking about the seriousness of research misconduct would help to promote fairness and consistency in sanction assignment. It concludes with some policy recommendations for those charged with research misconduct sanction assignment and for those who oversee research integrity at institutional levels.

Keywords: research misconduct; scientific misconduct; seriousness of misconduct; sanction assignment; research integrity; misconduct investigation

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08989620500440261

Affiliations: 1: University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

Publication date: 2006-04-01

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