Question

If a researcher creates the idea for a project and is not listed in the preferred author order position on resulting publications, is this considered to be research misconduct under federal policy?

Answer 1

Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.

Answer 2

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

If a researcher creates the idea for a project and is not listed in the preferred author order position on resulting publications, is not considered to be research misconduct under the federal policy but is a dispute about authorship.

Research misconduct implies plagiarism or the falsification of information when doing research and writing an article, book, or reporting the results. An author has to do its own research, use sources and include proper citations. It never needs to commit falsification or fabricate anything.