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NIH Guidelines on Research Misconduct (42 CFR 93)
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This is a foundational regulatory reference for understanding how research misconduct is formally defined in federally funded science; relevant to AI safety insofar as AI research integrity and reproducibility concerns intersect with these standards.
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Importance: 35/100guidance documentreference
Summary
The NIH defines research misconduct under Public Health Service policies as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in any stage of research, explicitly excluding honest error or differences of opinion. The guidelines establish the three core categories with specific examples, forming the regulatory backbone for research integrity enforcement in federally funded science.
Key Points
- •Research misconduct is officially defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism (FFP) in proposing, performing, reviewing, or reporting research.
- •Fabrication means making up data or results; falsification means manipulating materials, equipment, or processes to misrepresent findings.
- •Plagiarism is defined as appropriating others' ideas, processes, results, or words without attribution.
- •Honest error and differences of scientific opinion are explicitly excluded from the definition of misconduct.
- •These guidelines apply to all NIH-funded research and are codified under federal regulation 42 CFR Part 93.
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# **What Is Research Misconduct**
Scope Note
Understand what research misconduct is and the importance of maintaining integrity in the scientific enterprise.
## Definition of Research Misconduct
As an agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), NIH
follows the Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research
Misconduct [42 CFR 93](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-93 "Exiting Grants & Funding site - 42 CFR 93") . Research misconduct means fabricating, falsifying, and/or
plagiarizing in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting
research results. It does not include honest error or differences of opinion.
| Type of Misconduct | Definition | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fabrication | Making up data or results and recording or reporting them | In order to meet recruitment pressure and expectations, a study<br> coordinator completed trial enrollment forms using faked names and<br> participants' information. The study coordinator then created data for<br> these nonexistent participants |
| Falsification | Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or<br> omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately<br> represented in the research record. | Investigators might falsify results by removing data points from a graph<br> to give the appearance of a effect in the treatment group. |
| Plagiarism | The appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or<br> words without giving appropriate credit.<br> <br>[Plagiarism excludes](https://ori.hhs.gov/ori-policy-plagiarism "Exiting Grants & Funding site - Plagiarism excludes"):<br>- authorship, credit, or collaboration disputes<br>- intellectual property or patent disputes | N/A |
### FAQs
[Research Misconduct](https://grants.nih.gov/faqs/#/research-misc
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