Write a note on the following research misconduct (i) Falsification (ii) plagiarism
Answer:-
Falsification (Inappropriate Alteration of Data):
1. Misrepresentation and Misinterpretatio: Falsification involves misrepresenting or misinterpreting data or experimental results to align with a desired hypothesis, even if the actual data suggest otherwise.
2. Impacts on Engineering Research: Falsification and fabrication of data disrupt engineering research by introducing false empirical evidence into the literature, damaging the credibility of individuals involved, increasing costs, impeding progress, and causing avoidable delays in technical advancement.
3. Root Causes: Misleading data may arise due to poor experimental design or incorrect measurement practices, further complicating the detection and rectification of falsification.
4. Consequences for Honest Researchers: Honest researchers may face challenges in getting their work published if their findings fall short of previously published work influenced by misconduct, until the misconduct is identified and retracted.
5. Preservation of Objectivity: The image of engineering researchers as objective truth-seekers is at risk when instances of data-related fraud are discovered. Researchers can combat such misconduct by independently reproducing published results as part of their literature survey.
Plagiarism (Taking Others’ Work Without Attribution):
1. Definition and Types: Plagiarism occurs when someone uses or reuses another’s work without proper acknowledgment, including text, data, tables, figures, illustrations, or concepts. Self-plagiarism, or the reuse of one’s own published work without acknowledgment, is also unacceptable.
2. Detection Methods: Plagiarism can be detected by original authors, reviewers during the peer-review process, or readers encountering the work during research. Automated software tools like iThenticate are commonly used for detection, providing similarity scores between published and unpublished content.
3. Limitations of Detection Tools: While similarity scores indicate potential plagiarism, they do not conclusively identify it. Human judgment is essential to evaluate whether content has been plagiarized, particularly for cases of patchwork plagiarism.
4. Ethical Avoidance Strategies: Researchers can avoid high similarity scores by paraphrasing, summarizing, and citing sources appropriately. It’s crucial to use one’s own words and maintain a clear distinction between original ideas and borrowed content to uphold ethical standards in research writing.