What Factors Influence the Punishment of Research Misconduct: Evidence from Hospitals in Mainland China

Punishing researchers involved in research misconduct can impact their professional careers and involves issues of fairness. Previous studies (Long et al. 2023) have found that factors such as gender and academic status do not influence the severity of administrative actions taken by institutions. However, using research misconduct incidents in mainland Chinese hospitals as an example, our analysis employing tests of between-subject effects indicates that both professional title (p=0.038) and authorship order (p<0.001) significantly influence the punishment intensity. In second-order interaction effects, professional title and institutional level (p=0.025), as well as the type of research misbehavior and institutional level (p=0.006), jointly have a significant impact on punishment intensity. In third-order interaction effects, gender, professional title, and institutional level (p<0.001), as well as professional title, institutional level, and the type of research misbehavior (p=0.003), jointly have a significant impact on punishment intensity. We further discuss the specific interactions among these factors through simple effects, revealing potential “professional title bias” in addressing research misconduct in mainland Chinese hospitals. Various social factors intertwined contribute to the influence on punishment results, reflecting the complexity of addressing research misconduct as a systemic issue.