Seasoned academics are “calculating” about research misconduct and are most likely to be deterred by robust detection and enforcement rather than better education, an Australian study has found.
But whistleblower protections are critical in discouraging junior scientists from becoming habituated to dodgy research. And scientists at all levels of seniority tend to follow the rules rigorously if they believe their research risks real-world harm.
Academics from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and UNSW Sydney have used a “discrete choice experiment” – a technique typically employed in consumer research, transport modelling and health economics – to tease out the factors most likely to encourage or discourage research misconduct.
The study, reported in the journal Higher Education Research & Development, investigated the relative influence of 11 separate factors – including pressure to publish, the need for specialist expertise and the potential to harm humans, animals or the environment – on researchers’ willingness to bend or break the rules.
Overall, more severe penalties and higher likelihood of investigation emerged as the “main drivers” of scrupulousness – particularly among experienced researchers.
