Responsible conduct of research: Do we need training in fraud-science?

Abstract

In this evidence-based opinion piece on responsible conduct of research a short overview of the most prominent recent cases of sanctioned scientific misconduct, developments in the field of responsible conduct of research, definitions of types of scientific misconduct, and questionable research practices is given. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of scientists to publish and perform research is discussed, as well as the perception of fraud, its acceptability and influence on science and the scientific (public) record, with a special emphasis on the frequency of sanctioned and discovered fraudulent research. Data on (self)reported willingness to perform misconduct and questionable research practices are analyzed and discussed. An extensive overview on recent publications concerning topics of responsible conduct of research is presented. Finally, some suggestions to what the stakeholders could do are given, as well as easy (self)checks against scientific misconduct.