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Best Practices

Best practices for research, as defined in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine “Fostering Integrity in Research” report, are as follows:

• Uphold research integrity with vigilance, professionalism, and collegiality
• Manage research data effectively, responsibly, and transparently throughout the research process
• Follow general and disciplinary authorship standards when communicating through formal publications
• Know your responsibilities as a mentor and supervisor
• Strive to be a fair and effective peer reviewer who provides careful reviews, maintains confidentiality, and recognizes and discloses conflicts of interest
• Understand and comply with relevant institutional and governmental regulations governing research, including those specific to a given discipline or field

Research Misconduct

Under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 42 CFR Part 93, the federal regulations governing research misconduct proceedings, research misconduct is defined as falsification, fabrication or plagiarism.

• Fabrication is defined as making up data or results and recording or reporting on them.
• Falsification is defined as 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 defined as the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.

Mount Sinai Health System policies relating to ethical practices in research encompass both research misconduct—as defined by 42 CFR Part 93—and other improprieties relating to research, such as:

• Substantive noncompliance with regulations and institutional policies (e.g. relating to the Program for the Protection of Human Subjects (PPHS), the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), and the HIPAA Oversight Committee)
• Financial misappropriation

Authorship Disputes

Authorship disputes that do not include allegations of research misconduct (i.e., falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism) are typically handled at the departmental level and should be brought to the attention of the department chair. Please see the Faculty Handbook Authorship Policy for more information.