Fabrication
Scientific Misconduct includes Fabrication, Falsification,and Plagiarism. A formal definition of Scientific Misconduct from the DHHS is still pending, however, there is general consensus of the elements. View Policies and Procedures of the University of Miami Relating to Allegations of Misconduct in Research.
Definition: The Fabrication of data is the intentional act of creating records that do not exist and for which there is no basis in fact with the intent to mislead or deceive. Fabrication would be alleged in the following scenarios:
- Exemplified in the social sciences by a researcher/interviewer completing a questionnaire for a fictitious subject that was never interviewed. See ORI statement Can Survey Research Staff Commit Scientific Misconduct?
- In the biological sciences, the surreptitious creation of a data set for an experiment that was never actually conducted
- The practice of adding fictitious data to a real data set collected during an actual experiment for the purpose of providing additional statistical validity
- In clinical research the insertion of a clinical note into the research record to indicate compliance with an element of the protocol
From Assessing Scientific Misconduct Allegations Involving Clinical Research
Fabrication of data is rendered punishable when the false data is incorporated into the official study notebook; submitted to a funding agency; publicly dissemination through the process of publication, patent application, or at a public forum such as a professional meeting, seminar, or symposium; regardless of whether the data is subsequently published or not.
Web Resources for Training and Instruction
Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science Resources for understanding and addressing ethically significant problems that arise for scientists and engineers.
Case studies of Fabrication and/or Falsification
- Debliev, J. "The Darsee Affair," Emory Magazine (1983) 7-15.
- Steinbrook, Robert. "Findings on Alzheimer's Drug Challenged," LA Times II 1, II 4 (1988)
- Truth or Consequences
- Doubts about Published Research