Publication misconduct: Perceptions of participants of a faculty development programme

Background: . Publication misconduct is a commonly reported finding among researchers from various backgrounds including those from the medical sciences. The reasons for such events are diverse and people address them differently. Methods: . The opinions and experiences of 72 medical educators enrolled in an online discussion forum for faculty development were analysed to ascertain possible reasons and ways to address publication misconduct. Results: . Of the 50 educators who participated in the discussion, 46 had one or more experiences of publication misconduct to share. Twelve participants felt that almost all kinds of publication misconduct, i.e. fabrication and falsification of data, plagiarism and authorship issues were a universal phenomenon. In the experience of majority of the participants, publication misconduct was common and often no action was taken. Lack of knowledge and awareness among teachers and students, personal gains, pressure for professional advancement and lack of monitoring and control were identified as the reasons for such misconduct. Several solutions were offered by the participants to address the problem, the most common was to have a formal training programme along with stringent monitoring and control mechanisms at the institutional level. Conclusion: . Publication misconduct occurs and people indulge in it for a variety of reasons. Institutional-level policies may be able to address some of these.