Is it research misconduct if a scientist lies about her results at a departmental seminar but never publishes the results?
Is it research misconduct if a scientist, in discussing research with a competitor at another institution, suggests performing an experiment he knows to be a waste of time, thus delaying and hindering his competitor?
Is it research misconduct if a scientist agrees to be a coauthor of a colleague's paper to which he has made no substantive contributions?
If the scientist is blessed with a government grant, then the answer to all these questions appears to be "no," according to a new policy on research misconduct meant to apply to all federally supported research. The draft policy, in development since 1996 by the cabinet-level National Science and Technology Council and coordinated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), was published in the Federal Register Oct. 14 ...
