Response to Research Misconduct on Sponsored Projects

Policy Name: Response to Research Misconduct on Sponsored Projects

• Owner: Vice President for College Advancement
• Author: Foundation & Government Resources Director, Grants Management Specialist
• Contact Information: alee4@css.edu
• Effective Date: 11/01/2021
• Recent Review: 03/02/2025
• Next Review Date: TBD
• Applicable Laws, Regulations, Compliance:

I.Purpose

As a recipient of federal research funds, the College of St. Scholastica (CSS) must have written policies and procedures in place to handle allegations of research misconduct and has primary responsibility to prevent and detect research misconduct and to conduct inquiries, investigations, and adjudication of alleged research misconduct. This policy ensures that The College of St. Scholastica (CSS) will be compliant with the Public Health Service (PHS) requirements in 42 CFR 93, the National Science Foundation requirements in 45 CFR 689, the NASA requirements in 14 CFR 1275 and similar requirements by other external funding sources.

Faculty and staff of the College are expected to exemplify the best scholarly and ethical standards of their discipline and be a model of academic honesty in their own conduct. Misconduct in research is a breach of the College of St. Scholastica’s Benedictine values and a failure to meet the expectations of scholarly communities for accuracy, validity and integrity in research.

II.Definitions

• Allegation: A disclosure of possible research misconduct through any means of communication. The disclosure may be by written or oral statement or other communication to any institutional official.
• Complainant: The individual(s) who submits an allegation of research misconduct.
• Conflict of interest: Personal, professional, or financial activity or interest that interferes with or adversely affects a faculty or staff member’s capacity to meet College obligations, or calls into question whether the faculty or staff member's professional actions or decisions are determined by considerations other than the best interests of The College of St. Scholastica.
• Good faith allegation: An allegation made with the honest belief that research misconduct may have occurred. An allegation is not in good faith if it is made in reckless disregard for or willful ignorance of facts that would disprove the allegation.
• Inquiry: Preliminary process of gathering information to determine whether an allegation or apparent instance of research misconduct warrants a formal investigation.
• Investigation: The formal examination and evaluation of all relevant facts to determine, based on a preponderance of evidence, whether research misconduct has occurred and, if so, to determine the responsible person and the nature and seriousness of the research misconduct.
• Research: A systematic investigation, including research development, testing and reporting, designed to develop or contribute to general knowledge. The term encompasses basic research, applied research, and research training activities in areas such as biomedical and life sciences, natural sciences, humanities and the arts, and social and behavioral sciences.
• Research Misconduct: The fabrication, falsification, plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences in opinion.
  • Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
  • 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.
  • Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results or words without giving appropriate credit.
• Research record: The record of data or results that embody the facts resulting from scientific inquiry, including but not limited to, research proposals, laboratory records, both physical and electronic, progress reports, abstracts, theses, oral presentations, internal reports, and journal articles, and any documents and materials provided by the respondent in the course of the research misconduct proceedings.
• Research personnel: Anyone participating in research conducted at the College including but not limited to faculty, staff and students. The term “faculty” includes individuals of all faculty designations (including but not limited to “regular,” “probationary,” “tenured,” “term,” “visiting,” or “adjunct”) and of all ranks.​​​​​​​
• Respondent: The individual(s) against whom an allegation of research misconduct is directed or the individual(s) whose actions are the subject of an inquiry or investigation.​​​​​​​
• Retaliation: Any action that adversely affects the employment or other institutional status of a complainant or other individual and which occurs as a result of the​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ individual’s good faith allegation of research misconduct or participation in a research misconduct proceeding.​​​​​​​
• Sequestration: The collection, segregation and holding under secure and restricted access of research records, equipment and other tangible or intangible information pending the conclusion of the research misconduct investigative process.