Lesson 3: Academic honesty. Plagiarism. Citing and referencing: Vancouver style.

What is research integrity?

Conducting research honestly, responsibly, and ethically to ensure credibility and trust in science.

Why is research integrity vital for science?

Because scientific progress and public trust depend on reliable, accurate, and verifiable results.

Why is honesty important for universities and society?

Society relies on universities to train graduates and produce reliable scientific knowledge; dishonesty leads to loss of reputation and trust

What are current problems related to research integrity?

Increase in retractions, scientific scams, abusive supervision, lack of reproducibility, publish-or-perish pressure, and lack of a global definition.

What is scientific misconduct?

The violation of standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in scientific research.

What are the two main categories of scientific misconduct?

What is fabrication?

Making up data or results or changing results to improve them.

What is falsification?

Manipulating research materials, equipment, or data, including changing or omitting results.

What is plagiarism?

Copying ideas, texts, or results from others without proper referencing.

What does NOT constitute scientific misconduct?

Honest errors or differences of opinion.

What are Questionable Research Practices (QRPs)?

Practices that are not FFP but still threaten scientific integrity.

Give examples of QRPs.

Poor supervision, authorship problems, inaccurate data analysis, misuse of peer review, and avoidance of citing competitors.

What are the consequences of scientific misconduct?

Loss of public trust, damage to reputation, harm to students, funding cuts, and institutional consequences.

What is the first filter to detect scientific misconduct?

Peer review.

What happens if misconduct is detected after publication?

The article may be retracted by the journal.

What is Retraction Watch?

A platform that reports and tracks retracted scientific papers.

What are common reasons for scientific misconduct?

Career pressure, need for funding, desire for success, and inadequate ethics training.

Name measures to prevent scientific misconduct.

Better training, revised evaluation criteria, global anti-fraud measures, whistleblower protection, and external data verification.

What are the four basic responsibilities of researchers?

Integrity, adherence to regulations, appropriate research methods, and accurate research records.

What is Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)?

An educational framework promoting ethical behavior and good scientific practice.

What are the core principles of RCR?

Impartiality, respect for others’ work, independence, honesty, responsibility, and objectivity.

What are the main RCR areas?

Collaborative science, conflicts of interest and commitment, mentoring, peer review, responsible authorship, and regulation.

What is a conflict of interest?

A situation where personal interests may compromise research judgment.

What is a conflict of commitment?

When competing obligations affect a researcher’s priorities.

What is mentoring in research?

Guidance by experienced researchers to help trainees become independent scientists.

Who has the greatest responsibility in a scientific paper?

The corresponding author.

What is the role of the first author?

The main contributor to the research and writing.

What is the difference between a citation and a reference?

A citation appears in the text, while a reference provides full source details at the end.

Why are citations and references important?

They support claims, allow verification, and prevent plagiarism.

What are the three main referencing styles?

Harvard, Vancouver, and APA.

Which referencing style is most common in experimental sciences?

Vancouver style.

What characterizes the Vancouver referencing style?

Numerical in-text citations and a numbered reference list ordered by appearance.

What is the Harvard referencing style?

An author–date referencing system with in-text citations and an alphabetical reference list.

What is the APA referencing style?

An author–date referencing system similar to Harvard, with specific formatting rules and the use of DOIs for electronic sources.

What is a DOI?

A persistent digital identifier for electronic documents.

Why is a DOI preferred over a URL?

Because it provides a permanent and stable link to the document.

Name reference management tools.

EndNote, BibTeX, RefWorks, Mendeley, and Zotero.