Scholarly Misconduct

This book examines scholarly misconduct in all its forms, from research fraud to forensic misconduct. Taking each type of misconduct in turn, the book details and analyses notorious cases, and court and disciplinary tribunal case law from around the world, looking specifically at the legal and regulatory responses that were evoked in each instance.

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Professional misconduct within the academic community is highly publicised. Retractions of falsified research have reached record levels and allegations of fraud and misconduct by scholars generate high-profile investigations and sometimes professional disgrace. Such cases frequently reach the courts, with tribunals determining whether research fraud, plagiarism, sexual misconduct, defamation, discrimination, forensic impropriety, thefts, and other forms of improper behaviour have been committed. With claims including patient deaths, miscarriages of justice, and exploitation of funding agencies, the legal, reputational, and financial stakes for the individuals and institutions concerned are extremely high.

Scholarly Misconduct: Law, Regulation, and Practice is the first text of its kind to scrutinize the topic of academic integrity through a legal lens and across disciplines. Freckelton chronicles and analyses case law from around the globe, looking specifically at the legal and regulatory responses that were generated. The work also assesses the current policies and practices of academic and research institutions and government agencies worldwide. Finally, it reflects on the measures that need to be undertaken to reclaim and promote scholarly integrity and to institute rigorous, fair, and clear processes to establish whether scholars have indeed engaged in misconduct.