© Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ , UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. MODULE SIX: SPECIAL ISSUES BENJAMIN SCHNEIDER AND UDO SCHÜKLENK ABSTRACT The objective of this module is to cover ground that was not covered in- depth in any of the other modules, including: scientific misconduct, issues concerning the publication and ownership of research results (authorship guidelines – who is eligible to be considered an author, or contributor to a scientific paper etc.), special problems occurring in social science and epidemiological research, and the problems pertaining to conflicts of inter- est the various players in biomedical research activities could encounter. SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT What is scientific misconduct? A widely accepted definition of research misconduct, as it appears in the USA Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, is as follows: 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. Falsification is 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 the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. Research misconduct does not include honest error or honest difference of opinion. 1 Developing World Bioethics ISSN 1471-8731 (print); 1471-8847 (online) Volume 5 Number 1 2005 1 Available at: http://www.ostp.gov/html/001207_3.htm