Policy 811 - Policy and Administrative Procedures Governing Research Misconduct

Policy Number:  811
Responsible Office:   Office of the Provost; Grants and Sponsored Research

Policy Summary

The University has established standards and procedures for our faculty and other staff, researchers, research coordinators, technicians, post-doctoral and other fellows, students, employees, trainees, guest researchers, or collaborators, volunteers, agents, contractual affiliates, contractors, subcontractors and their employees (“Institutional Members”) in order to preserve the truth, integrity, and credibility in research, to prevent research misconduct, and to deal efficiently and fairly with good faith allegations or other indications of research misconduct by reporting and responding to allegations of research misconduct in the manner required to meet legal and regulatory requirements and ensure responsibility, safety and integrity in the research community.

Research misconduct is generally defined as any fabrication, falsification, omission, plagiarism, suppression, theft, misappropriation, or other practice that violates the standards commonly accepted within the research community for proposing, conducting, reviewing research or in reporting results of research.  Honest errors or honest differences of opinion, interpretations or judgments of data are not regarded as research misconduct.

The integrity of the University should never be in question.  Thus, the University and the research community within it must do everything possible to prevent all forms of research misconduct.  It is for these reasons that these standards and procedures have been established.  These standards and procedures are designed to help facilitate the handling of alleged research misconduct and, above all, to promote and maintain high ethical standards in research and to protect the integrity of research and of the University.

View the complete policy and procedures governing Research Misconduct.