What is considered "research misconduct"?

The definition of "research misconduct" encompasses specific unethical behaviors that violate the integrity of the research process. The accurate description includes fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism, which are all significant breaches of ethical standards in research.

Fabrication refers to making up data or results and recording or reporting them as if they were real. Falsification involves manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record. Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, effectively claiming another's work as one's own.

This comprehensive definition is crucial because it covers various ways that the integrity of research can be compromised, thus protecting the credibility of scientific inquiry. Other choices, like neglecting ethical guidelines or incomplete reporting, while problematic, do not fully encompass the explicit behaviors classified as research misconduct according to federal regulations and institutional policies. These actions may indicate a lack of integrity or oversight but fall outside the more recognized definitions of misconduct that can have severe ramifications for both the individual and the institution involved.