Page History

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Title: Research Misconduct
Subject: Research Integrity
Policy No: Res: 2014: 01
Applies: To all faculty, students, postdoctoral research fellows, and research technologists
Issuing Authority: Office of Research
Responsible Officer: Research Integrity Officer
Adopted: 02/01/2014
Last Revision: 06/2815/20212023
Last Reviewed: 06/2815/20212023

I.    PURPOSE

The purpose of the research misconduct policy is to set forth the Rowan University's policy with regard to the standards expected of its faculty, students, postdoctoral research fellows, and research technologists concerning research misconduct. It also describes the consequences in those instances in which misconduct in research is made.

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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 (§ 93.103, 42 CFR Part 93- June 2005).
5. Allegation means any written or oral statement or indication of possible scientific misconduct made to an institutional official.
6. Authorship definition varies among various disciplines. In general authorship attributes to the mechanism for allocation of credit to the individuals for their contribution to the intellectual value of a material that is being presented to the audience. It has important academic, social and financial implications. Authorship also implies responsibility and accountability for the material that is being presented.
7. Institution means Rowan University.
8. Employee means, for the purpose of this policy only, any person paid by, under the control of, or affiliated with the Rowan University, including but not limited to scientists, physicians, trainees, students, fellows, technicians, nurses, support staff, and guest researchers.
9. Research Integrity Officer means the institutional official responsible for assessing allegations of scientific misconduct and determining when such allegations warrant inquiries and for overseeing inquiries and investigations. The Research Integrity Officer is named on the Rowan Office of Research Website.

10. Deciding Official (DO) means the institutional official who makes final determinations on allegations of scientific misconduct and any responsive institutional actions. The DO will not be the same individual as the Research Integrity Officer and should have no direct prior involvement in the institution's inquiry, investigation, or allegation assessment. A DO's appointment of an individual to assess allegations of research misconduct, or to serve on an inquiry or investigation committee, is not considered to be direct prior involvement.

    The

     The current Deciding Official

    and Research Integrity Officer are Shreekanth Mandayam

    is Mei Wei, PhD., Vice President for

    Research, and Sreekant Murthy, Chief

    Research

    Compliance Officer

    .

11. Complainant means a person who makes an allegation of scientific misconduct.
12. Respondent means the person against whom an allegations of scientific misconduct is directed or the person whose actions are the subject of the inquiry or investigation. There can be more than one respondent in any inquiry or investigation.
13. Research record means any data, document, computer file, or any other written or non-written account or object that reasonably may be expected to provide evidence or information regarding the proposed, conducted, or reported research that constitutes the subject of an allegation of scientific misconduct. A research record includes, but is not limited to, grant or contract applications, whether funded or unfunded; grant or contract progress and other reports; laboratory notebooks; notes; correspondence; videos; photographs; X-ray film; slides; biological materials; computer files and printouts; manuscripts and publications; equipment use logs; laboratory procurement records; animal facility records; human and animal subject protocols; consent forms; medical charts; and patient research files.

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