Promoting Integrity in Research
Individual | Institutional |
|
|
International - Misconduct Cases
German Misconduct Case Adding RespondentsVolume 8, No. 4, September 2000A research misconduct case that began in 1997 with allegations against a well-known and decorated member of the German research establishment and a colleague has expanded to include the department chief and four other co-authors, according to published reports. A recently-completed 2-year investigation of 347 scientific articles authored by Friedhelm Herrmann, former hematologist and cancer researcher, found that 52 articles "contained falsifications"; 42 contained suspected data; and 121 were placed in a "grey category" because the investigators could not get access to original data. The remaining 132 papers are deemed valid. Of the 94 suspected papers, 53 were published with his accused colleague, Marion Brach. The investigation, jointly sponsored by Germany's main granting agency and its largest cancer charity, was expanded to cover three of Herrmann's most frequent co-authors besides Brach, all of whom were in the same department. The investigation examined over 600 articles published by the quintet. The department chief said he was only an honorary author on the 59 suspected articles that contain his name. An examination of a paper published by the department chief without Herrmann, however, indicated many "irregularities and indications that data had been improperly handled." Two researchers who were co-authors on that paper were added to the investigation. Evidence of improper data manipulation has also been found in three habilitations, the uniquely German post-Ph.D. qualification for aspiring professors, submitted by three of Herrmann's frequent co-authors, including Brach. Four universities and a research center have conducted investigations into the case. In June, the university where Herrmann and four of his co-authors worked reactivated its fraud panel to investigate the department that employed the respondents. Both funding sources are considering legal action to recover research funds. |
This page last was updated on January 13, 2005U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity 1101 Wootton Parkway Suite 750 Rockville, MD 20852 Directions to ORI Office Questions/suggestions about this web page? Contact ORI |