NSF Adopts New Research
Misconduct Definition
March 29, 2002 - The National Science Foundation (NSF)
March 18 issued a final rule [67
Federal Register 11936] that revises its existing
definition misconduct to implement the Federal Policy on Research
Misconduct issued by the Office of Science and Technology
(OSTP) on Dec. 6, 2000. The new definition is effective April
17.
OSTP's Dec. 6, 2000 federal research misconduct policy consists
of a definition of research misconduct and basic guidelines
to help federal agencies and federally funded research institutions
respond to allegations of research misconduct. The policy
directed federal agencies that support or conduct research
to implement it within one year. On Jan. 25, 2002, NSF published
a proposed rule to revise its existing misconduct. In response
to comments, NSF added language to the regulation that provides
that to the extent permitted by law, NSF will protect research
misconduct investigative and adjudicative files as exempt
from mandatory disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act and the Privacy Act. The definition adopted by NSF is
consistent with the definition mandated by the OSTP report:
Research misconduct means fabrication, falsification,
or plagiarism in proposing or performing research funded
by NSF, reviewing research proposals submitted to NSF, or
in reporting research results funded by NSF.
(1) Fabrication means making up data or results and
recording or reporting them.
(2) Falsification means manipulating research materials,
equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or
results such that the research is not accurately represented
in the research record.
(3) Plagiarism means the appropriation of another person's
ideas, processes, results or words without giving appropriate
credit.
(4) Research, for purposes of paragraph (a) of this section,
includes proposals submitted to NSF in all fields of science,
engineering, mathematics, and education and results from
such proposals. (b) Research misconduct does not include
honest error or differences of opinion.
Information:
Tony Mazzaschi, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
tmazzaschi@aamc.org
(202) 828-0059
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