A government guideline for universities and research institutes to cope with research misconduct goes into effect on April 1. It was developed by the education and science ministry in view of a series of misconduct cases, including the high-profile STAP cell scandal at Riken. But the guideline is inadequate in ensuring fairness and transparency in the process of investigating alleged misconduct. The ministry should not hesitate to revise it.
While the STAP cell fiasco made big headlines, the research misconduct that took place at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences is more serious. Data fabrication and manipulation were detected in 33 research papers involving 11 people, including a former professor who headed the institute.
To prevent a recurrence, the guideline lays down basic ideas on how to prevent unethical behavior by researchers and how to cope with research irregularities once they have happened. It calls on universities and research institutes to set up their own systems to deal with these issues.
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