Summa cum fraude – Scientific Misconduct and the Attempt of a Counterattack

• Applicants: Dr. Ulrich Herb; Professorin Dr. Karin Jacobs; Privatdozent Dr. Frank Müller
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics ; Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials ; Mechanical Properties of Metallic Materials and their Microstructural Origins ; Physical Chemistry of Solids and Surfaces, Material Characterisation ; Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 430681129

The project "Summa cum fraude – Scientific Misconduct and the Attempt of a Counterattack" is intended to provide an active tool for self-regulation in science in order to engage the strongly expanding phenomenon of scientific misconduct. Basically, the project entails a targeted search of publications in scientific journals (here: physics, chemistry and material science) in order to find studies with fabricated or false data. After reporting these cases to the editors of the concerned journals the whole process of investigation is documented. Primarily, the project therefore aims to eliminate such publications that are in strong conflict with the standards of good scientific practice in order to avoid that fake science contributes to the current knowledge. Based on these investigations, new and especially uniform and standardized concepts to cope with scientific misconduct are discussed with representatives from several publishers and libraries, and ombudspeople (e.g. at a concluding workshop). The knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of scientific misconduct and the analysis of typical systematics (i.e. topic of the journal, open access journal, publisher, impact factor, type of misconduct, repeated misconduct, statement by the authors, duration of the investigation by the journal, final decision by the editor) may provide possible solutions to prevent scientific misconduct or to reduce its current extent.

• DFG Programme: Science Communication, Research Data, eResearch (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)