Research Misconduct

OHSU members should see the Research Misconduct (Policy No. 04-15-005) on O2 and procedure manual in the MCN Policy Management system.

The Oregon Health & Science University research community is committed to the ethical conduct of science. The research misconduct policy and procedures outline the requirements for review of allegations of research misconduct.

Research misconduct

As defined by the PHS policy on research misconduct, research misconduct means fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

  1. Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
  2. Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
  3. Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.
  4. Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion.

Federal law provides the framework for the investigation of research misconduct. The standards for management of research misconduct are set out by the NIH Office of Research Integrity

The Research Integrity Office invites questions or concerns regarding potential research misconduct be sent directly to Research Integrity Officer (Kara Drolet, PhD), or to the Integrity Office.

Authorship attribution

Authorship attribution is managed by the Office of the Provost, and inquiries should be directed to the Executive Vice Provost: David Robinson, Ph.D.

If you are unsure whether a matter is research misconduct or authorship attribution, you are invited to contact either the Executive Vice Provost or the Integrity Office for guidance.

Office of Research Integrity (ORI) Resources

Reporting concerns

Integrity Helpline (877) 733-8313 Report online here

You can also file a confidential or anonymous report through the Integrity Helpline.

The OHSU Integrity Office contracts with an independent company to provide a fully staffed compliance and ethics helpline available 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. Questions and concerns may be reported by telephone or online submission, and each will be kept confidential or anonymous based on the preference of the reporter.

Submitted reports can only be accessed using a "report key" and password. This information is provided during the submission process as a means to maintain the confidentiality of your report, and facilitate additional communication between the reporter and investigators. It cannot be retrieved if lost.