Research Misconduct

Carnegie Mellon University is responsible for the integrity of research conducted at the university. As a community of scholars, in which truth and integrity are fundamental, the university has established procedures for the investigation of allegations of misconduct of research with due care to protect the rights of those accused, those making the allegations, and Carnegie Mellon University. 

Federal regulations define research misconduct as one or more of the following:

• Research Misconduct: Fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, reviewing, or reporting research.
• Fabrication: Making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
• Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing/omitting data or results.
• Plagiarism: Appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.
• Good Faith: Having a belief in the truth of one’s allegation or testimony that a reasonable person could have, based on the information known at the time.

Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion.