WHAT DRIVES PEOPLE TO COMMINT RESEARCH MISCONDUCT?

These quotes come from people who admitted to research misconduct in closed Office of Research Integrity cases. Research misconduct is never justified, but it is important to recognize potential drivers of misconduct to better understand how it might be prevented.

*Quotes supplied by the Office of Research Itegrity.

  • POOR SUPERVISION

    "I was scared to go to [my PI]. he used to SCREAM & YELL at me when things did not work as planned."

  • INADEQUATE TRAINING

    "After two years of a postdoctoral fellowship… I STILL DON’T KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY PUBLISH western blot data.

  • COMPETITIVE PRESSURES

    "I felt it was necessary to get a PAPER IN A HIGH-PROFILE JOURNAL in order to get a FACULTY POSITION."

  • PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

    "[I] had been applying for a green card and felt PRESSURED TO MAKE A GOOD PAPER AND GET GOOD PUBLICATIONS."

  • INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY

    "Half of me wanted to MAKE [MY PI] PROUD. The other half was TERRIFIED OF FAILING… SO I FABRICATED a piece of data."

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