Research Integrity & Scientific Misconduct Flashcards

Which of the following is a core area included in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) education as outlined by federal guidelines?

Answer: Research mentoring, conflict of interest, data management, and research misconduct

Federal RCR guidelines identify key topics including mentorship, conflict of interest, data management, research misconduct, human subjects protection, and collaborative research.

A financial conflict of interest (COI) in research most commonly arises when:

Answer: A researcher has financial ties to an entity that could bias research design, conduct, or reporting

Financial COI occurs when a researcher's personal financial interests — such as equity stakes, consulting fees, or royalties — could compromise the objectivity of their research.

Outcome reporting bias (selective reporting) threatens research integrity because it:

Answer: Distorts the published literature by reporting only significant or favorable outcomes while omitting others

Selective outcome reporting inflates apparent effectiveness, contributes to publication bias, and gives readers a skewed picture of the available evidence.

Pre-registration of a study (e.g., on ClinicalTrials.gov or the OSF) primarily serves to:

Answer: Publicly document hypotheses, methods, and outcomes before data collection to prevent post-hoc manipulation

Pre-registration creates a timestamped public record of planned hypotheses and analyses, making it possible to distinguish confirmatory from exploratory findings and deter p-hacking.

Which federal body issued the overarching policy definition of research misconduct that applies across all federally funded research in the US?

Answer: Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

OSTP issued the Federal Policy on Research Misconduct in 2000, establishing the government-wide FFP definition of research misconduct that all federal agencies must adopt.

Which practice is most consistent with maintaining research integrity when reporting analytical results?

Answer: Including all pre-specified outcomes and analyses, whether results are significant or not

Reporting all pre-specified outcomes and analyses, regardless of significance, is essential for transparency and prevents selective reporting bias in the scientific literature.

A researcher is pressured by a senior colleague to list the department chair as a co-author, despite the chair having no involvement in the study. Accepting this request would constitute:

Answer: Honorary (gift) authorship, which violates research integrity and ICMJE standards

Adding someone as an author who did not meet authorship criteria constitutes honorary or gift authorship, a recognized violation of research integrity principles.