Misconduct in Science

II. Definitions

• A. Allegation means any written or oral statement or other indication of possible misconduct made to an institutional official.
• B. Conflict of Interest means the interference of one person's interests with the interests of another person, where potential bias may occur due to prior or existing personal or professional relationships.
• C. Deciding Official means the Provost, The University of Montana who, as the institutional official, makes final determinations on allegations of scientific misconduct and any responsive institutional actions. The Deciding Official will not be the same individual as the Research Integrity Officer and should have no direct prior involvement in the institution's inquiry, investigation, or allegation assessment.
• D. Good Faith Allegation means an allegation made with the honest belief that scientific or other misconduct may have occurred. An allegation is not in good faith if it is made with reckless disregard for or willful ignorance of facts that would disprove the allegation; any such allegation may subject the person making it to adverse employment and private legal action.
• E. Inquiry means gathering information and initial fact-finding to determine whether an allegation of misconduct warrants an investigation.*
• F. Investigation means the formal examination and evaluation of all relevant facts to determine whether misconduct has occurred, and if so, to determine the responsible person and the seriousness of the misconduct.**
• G. ORI means the Office of Research Integrity, the office within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that is responsible for the misconduct and research integrity activities of the U.S. Public Health Service.
  
  In the case of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the appropriate office is the Office of the Inspector General. In the case of other federal agencies, an appropriate office of the involved federal agency will be identified.
• H. PHS means the U.S. Public Health Service, an operating component of the DHHS.
• I. PHS Regulation means the Public Health Service regulation establishing standards for institutional inquiries and investigations into allegations of misconduct, which is set forth at 42 C.F.R. Part 5093, Subparts A, B, C, D, and E.
• J. Federal Support means federal grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements or applications therefore.
• K. Research Integrity Officer means the institutional official responsible for assessing allegations of misconduct and determining when such allegations warrant inquiries and for overseeing inquiries and investigations.
• L. Research Record means any data, document, computer file, computer diskette, or any other written or non-written account or object that reasonably may be expected to provide evidence or information regarding the proposed, conducted, or reported research that constitutes the subject of an allegation of misconduct. A research record includes, but is not limited to, grant or contract applications, whether funded or unfunded; grant or contract progress and other reports; laboratory notebooks; notes; correspondence; videos; photographs; X-ray film; slides; biological materials; computer files and printouts; manuscripts and publications; equipment use logs; laboratory procurement records; animal facility records; human and animal subject protocols; consent forms; medical charts; and patient research files.
• M. Respondent means the person against whom an allegation of misconduct is directed or the person whose actions are the subject of the inquiry or investigation. There can be more than one respondent in any inquiry or investigation.
• N. Retaliation means any action that adversely affects the employment or other institutional status of an individual that is taken by an institution or an employee because the individual has in good faith, made an allegation of misconduct or of inadequate institutional response thereto or has cooperated in good faith with an investigation of such allegation.
• 0. Misconduct or Misconduct in Science means professional misconduct or other practices that are a seriously departure from those commonly accepted within the research or creative activities community for proposing, performing, reviewing, or reporting research and other creative activities. Fabrication, falsification and plagiarism are included under misconduct. It does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretations or judgments of data.
• P. Complainant means a person who in good faith makes an allegation of misconduct.

*For purposes of clarification, the definitions are expanded as follows:

1. Misconduct in Research or Creative Activities
This is a significant misbehavior that improperly acquires the intellectual property or contributions of others, that intentionally impedes the progress of research, or that risks corrupting the scientific record** or compromising the integrity of scientific and other creative activity practices. Such behaviors are unethical and unacceptable in proposing, conducting, or reporting research, or in reviewing the proposals or research reports of others.

Examples of research misconduct include but are not limited to the following:

• a) Misappropriation: An investigator or reviewer shall not intentionally or recklessly;
• 1) plagiarize, which shall be understood to mean the appropriation of the documented words, ideas, processes, or results of another as the presenter1) plagiarize, which shall be understood to mean the appropriation of the documented words, ideas, processes, or results of another as the presenter’
• 2) make use of any information in breach of any duty of confidentiality associated with the review of any manuscript or grant application.
• b) Interference: An investigator or reviewer shall not intentionally and without authorization take or sequester or materially damage any research-related property of another, including without limitation the apparatus, reagents, biological materials, writings, data, hardware, software, or any other substance or device used or produced in the conduct of research.
• c) Misrepresentation: An investigator or reviewer shall not, with intent to deceive or in reckless disregard for the truth:
• 1) state or present a material or significant falsehood; or
• 2) omit a fact so that what is stated or presented as a whole, states or presents a material or significant falsehood. Free scientific inquiry naturally includes proposing hypotheses that may ultimately prove to be false, offering interpretations of data that conflict with other interpretations, and making scientific observations and analyses that may prove to be in error. The sanctionable acts defined and elaborated here are not intended to limit or define comprehensively the oversight role of academic and research institutions.
• *Integrity and Misconduct in Research, a Report of the Commission on Research Integrity to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1995.
• **The record encompasses any documentation or presentation of research, oral or written, published or unpublished.

2. Other Forms of Professional Misconduct

• a) Obstruction of Investigations of Research Misconduct The Federal Government has an important interest in protecting the integrity of investigations into reported incidents of research misconduct. Accordingly, obstruction of investigations of research misconduct related to federal funding constitutes a form of professional misconduct in that it undermines the interests of the public, the scientific community, and the Federal Government.
  
  Obstruction of investigations of research misconduct consists of intentionally withholding or destroying evidence in violation of a duty to disclose or preserve; falsifying evidence; encouraging, soliciting or giving false testimony; and attempting to intimidate or retaliate against witnesses, potential witnesses, or potential leads to witnesses or evidence before, during, or after the commencement of any formal or informal proceeding.
• b) Noncompliance with Research Regulations
  Responsible conduct in research includes compliance with applicable federal research regulations. Such regulations include (but are not limited to) those governing the use of biohazardous materials and human and animal subjects in research.
  
  Serious noncompliance with such regulations after notice of their existence undermines the interests of the public, the scientific community, and the Federal Government and constitutes another form of professional misconduct.

3. Standard of Proof
The standard of proof for misconduct must be established by a preponderance of evidence supporting the conclusion that the acts or practices in question were serious departures from those commonly employed in the United States for proposing, performing, reviewing, or reporting research and other creative activities. In determining whether or not misconduct occurred, both action and intent will be considered.