Commentary: The University and Research Ethics

The issue of fraud in research raises a number of difficult problems for the university. A few researchers have violated commonly accepted norms for ethical behavior. Among other offenses, they have falsified data, plagiarized information, and stolen ideas. The exact mechanisms of the violations may be quite clear to the institution within which they happen. What may be less certain are the significance of these episodes of misconduct, the factors that explain their occurrence, and the appropriate actions for dealing with them. These are the problems that universities must now address as they establish formal policies for research ethics. Because of the small number of publicized cases, some observers argue that instances of major compromises of research ethics are trivial in comparison to the total amount of scientific research undertaken. In other words, science appears on the whole to be an honest profession-an assessment that has led some commentators to conclude that the present concern over research ethics is more the product of biased publicity than of widespread misconduct in the practice of science.' Whatever the cause of current concern, fraud has not been ignored. As cases are discovered, they are confronted; evidence is assembled, review