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Falsification of Credentials in the Research Setting; Scientific Misconduct?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Debra M. Parrish
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Extract

The debate about the definition of scientific miscon duct is being revisited by the scientific community in response to the Commission on Research Integrity's (CRI) recommendation for a new definition. Scientists and lawyers are debating whether scientific misconduct should include acts that are not unique to the scientific community and do not affect the research. Falsification of credentials is one form of such misconduct.

The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the two federal agencies primarily responsible for developing policies on scientific misconduct, have struggled to define scientific rnisconduct and to decide which forms of professional misconduct do and do not fall within the definition. Although falsification of credentials is not unique to the scientific community, OR1 and NSF have determined that when researchers lie about their credentials, such conduct may constitute scientific misconduct. The question is why this form of professional misconduct has been labeled scientific misconduct when it occurs in a research setting, and whether any distinction exists between this white coat crime and white collar crime.

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Article
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , Fall 1996 , pp. 260 - 266
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1996

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References

Commission on Research Integrity, Integrity and Misconduct in Research, Report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the House Committee on Commerce and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1995).Google Scholar
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Cases in which ORI found misconduct based on falsified credentials include: Chagnon, 59 Fed. Reg. 38,979 (ORI 1994) (claiming bachelor of science from and graduate work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Lowell University, and Northeastern; claiming master of science in organic chemistry from MIT); Surprenant, 59 Fed. Reg. 39,366 (ORI 1994) (claiming additional doctorate of medicine from University of Illinois and discovery of additional claims of doctorate of medicine made during investigation); Constantoulakis, 59 Fed. Reg. 45,679 (ORI 1994) (misrepresenting academic credentials at company); Leisman, 59 Fed. Reg. 64,667 (ORI 1994) (misrepresenting academic credentials and experience in application—claimed doctorate of medicine, professorship at Harvard University, and thirteen patents); Tomasula, 60 Fed. Reg. 38,352-3 (ORI 1995) (claiming doctorate from Northwestern University); June, 60 Fed. Reg. 64,444 (ORI 1995) (falsifying three letters of recommendation); and Lupu, 60 Fed. Reg. 66,276 (ORI 1995) (falsifying letter of collaboration).Google Scholar
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