The old assumption that fraud inevitably will be revealed seems unacceptable. The stakes have become too high to rely on traditional mechanisms. Incidents of misconduct have alarmed not only the science community and its onlookers, but more significantly, the U.S. Congress, where some factions feel regulation is necessary.
In 1988, the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop that produced 16 recommendations, some of which have been implemented by federal regulatory action, including establishment of the Office of Scientific Integrity and the Office of Scientific Integrity Review ("The Responsible Conduct of Research in the Health Sciences," National Academy Press, 1989; The FASEB Journal, 5:2512, 1991). In addition to the establishment of these offices, adoption of policies and procedures to promote responsible conduct of research is now required of grantee institutions as well as internally by the National Institutes of Health. There is the fear in the science community that more restrictions, ...
