Research misconduct is widespread and harms patients

The best writing transforms the writer as well as the reader. I can’t claim transformation for you when you read the editorial on research misconduct in the UK (doi:10.1136/bmj.d8357), but I do claim it for me. Writing it with Elizabeth Wager changed my own views, largely thanks to conversations with those we sent it to for comment. The editorial prefaces a joint BMJ /COPE meeting on 12 January on research misconduct in the UK. As Aniket Tavare makes clear, the UK is lagging behind other developed countries in still having no proper system for tackling misconduct (doi:10.1136/bmj.d8212). Discussions and initiatives have focused on research fraud, defined as fabrication, …