context: The revised Scientific and Technological Progress Law, which came into effect at the beginning of 2022, included provisions on recordkeeping of scientific research dishonesty. As a follow-up to the Law and in keeping with Beijing's increasing emphasis on promoting research integrity, a recently issued code fleshes out some of the practical details for investigating and handling cases of research dishonesty.
Bringing some clarity to policies related to research integrity, MoST (Ministry of Science and Technology) and 21 other ministries jointly issued the ‘Disciplinary code for scientific research dishonesty’ on 14 Sep 2022. The code include the list of behaviours that fall under research dishonesty, which are
- plagiarism or appropriation of others' research achievements
- fabricating research processes, falsifying research results or trading experimental research data
- writing academic papers on behalf of others
- gaining approval and resources for research activities through falsified information, bribery or other illegitimate means
- obtaining scientific and technological ethics approval by cheating
- getting listed as an author on a publication without making a substantial academic contribution to the publication
- repeating publications and citing literature unrelated to the content of the paper
- other behaviours of research dishonesty
The code also outline the allocation of responsibilities across different agencies in investigating and handling research dishonesty. As well, the rules lay out the specifics of the processes of investigation and handling, including
- case reporting and handling
- investigation plans
- handling measures
- verbal warnings on research integrity
- suspension of scientific research activities
- cancelling relevant academic awards and funding
- withholding degrees/certificates
- appeal procedures
- guarantees and supervision
It is worth noting that the new rules include the mention of a database for serious research dishonesty. The rules state that relevant central and local authorities will jointly impose disciplinary actions against individuals recorded in the database.