What drives academic research misconduct? The viewpoint of researchers

Abstract

Research misconduct in higher education is a global concern. Research integrity is vital for ensuring scientific research is trustworthy for the research community and public. Despite the importance of research integrity, research misconduct–breaches of scientific norms such as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and questionable practices–remains prevalent. This study explores academic researchers’ perceptions of the relative importance of factors driving research misconduct. An online survey incorporating a novel application of a choice experiment was undertaken by researchers at universities in Australia, the United States and Europe. We adopted an inferred behavior approach to address self-reporting bias and, hence, the choice experiment focused on a hypothetical researcher. The results indicate that among the 11 factors varied within the choice experiment, researchers perceive misconduct as significantly more likely to occur mainly when penalties are lower, when there is lower likelihood of investigation into misconduct, and when the negative human/animal/environmental impact of misconduct is smaller. Three latent classes are also identified, revealing differences among researchers with respect to their judgement of the factors that drive misconduct. The findings of our study provide guidance for university policies and promotion of research integrity.