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International - Activity
Research Misconduct Receives International Attention
Volume 2, No. 2, March 1994
The Committee on Scientific Dishonesty of the
Danish Research Council sponsored an "International Conference
on Scientific Dishonesty and Good Scientific Practice" in Copenhagen
last November. The conference included invited representatives from
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, Germany, Austria and the
U.S. Dr. Dorothy Macfarlane, Acting Director of the Division of
Research Investigations, represented the Office of Research Integrity.
The purpose of the meeting was to exchange information on how scientific
misconduct allegations are handled in the represented countries,
to share experiences in dealing with cases, and to foster international
cooperation in promoting scientific integrity and investigating
misconduct.
The Danish Committee on Scientific Dishonesty reported its experiences
in dealing with scientific misconduct. It had received an unexpectedly
large number of allegations in its initial year of operation. Twelve
cases were opened, with allegations ranging from authorship disputes
to data fabrication and falsification.
Dr. Stephen Lock (former chief editor of the British Medical Journal)
discussed the "History and Epidemiology of Scientific Misconduct,"
and later spoke on the role of the journal editor in preventing
misconduct. Dr. Albin Eser (former vice president of the German
Research Foundation) reviewed the judicial bases for investigating
and sanctioning misconduct. A member of the Danish Committee on
Scientific Dishonesty, Dr. Povl Riis, discussed the scope of scientific
dishonesty. His colleague, Dr. Steen Walter, commented on the role
of the educator in preventing misconduct. Invited speakers reported
on what measures have been taken to deal with scientific misconduct
and promote scientific integrity in each country represented. They
also described the problems encountered in defining, identifying,
and investigating alleged misconduct, and appropriate sanctions
for those found to have committed misconduct.
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