Dr. Priya Bhave Chittawar discusses instances of research misconduct including fabrication and falsification of data. She summarizes studies that estimate 1.97% of scientists admit to falsification or fabrication, while 33% admit to other questionable research practices. She then discusses three specific cases where fraudulent research affected medical treatments: a breast cancer treatment trial where one contributor fabricated data; a study on cardioprotective diets that was found to be fraudulent; and concerns about fraudulent research on the effects of red wine on the heart. She emphasizes that research misconduct undermines scientific progress and can have serious consequences for public health.

1. RESEARCH
MISCONDUCT
Dr. Priya Bhave Chittawar

4. The lazy person‘s guide to research?
In a world of ‗publish or perish‘ is there a medicine
to help us
• Rise to the occasion
• Perform research and publish it
• Fast track work
• Get personal and professional acclaim
INSTANTLY!

5. A pill for every woe…

6. What is the evidence on Laigra?
How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research?
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data
Daniele Fanelli ( Plos 2009)
*21 studies
*Scientists admitting misconduct( falsification and
fabrication) : 1.97% (95%CI: 0.86–4.45)
*Other misconduct ( QRP): 33%
*Scientists observing misconduct: 14%(CI: 9.91–19.72)
*Observing QRP: 28.53%, (CI:18.85–38.2)

7. Research Misconduct
• What?
• Who?
• Why?
• How to prevent?
• How to detect?

8. Types
• Falsification
• Fabrication
• Plagiarism

9. How fraud affects us?
• Breast cancer treatment
• Cardioprotective diet
• Red wine and the heart

10. 1. Breast cancer treatment
• NSBAP project
• Mastectomy versus lumpectomy in treatment of Ca breast
• ―Life-table estimates five and eight years after surgery
indicated that 90 percent of women who underwent
lumpectomy followed by breast irradiation remained free
of cancer in the ipsilateral breast. The rates of disease-
free survival, survival free of disease at distant sites, and
overall survival were not significantly different from
those among patients who underwent either total
mastectomy or lumpectomy alone. ‖

11. NSBAP trial
• Major misconduct by one of the contributors Dr. Poisson(
Montreal)
• Ineligible patients recruited, data fudged and altered to
suit the results.
• Office of research integrity( ORI)

13. •

15. • Findings did not change after excluding the
cohort of patients from St Luc Hospital
• Cast a shadow on the findings.
• No longer powered to detect a clinically
significant difference

17. The Story of Ram
BMJ, 1992 Apr 18;304(6833):1015-9.
Randomised controlled trial of cardioprotective
diet in patients with recent acute myocardial
infarction: results of one year follow up.
Singh RB, Rastogi SS, Verma R,Laxmi B,Singh
R,Ghosh S,Niaz MA.
Medical Hospital and Research
Centre, Moradabad, India.

18. Cont….
• 550 patients of myocardial infarction
• One year of low fat, high fibre diet
• Half risk of death due to all causes
• Cited 225 times
• Still on the Pubmed

19. If something is too good to be true, it is probably
not.

20. The Expose`
BMJ. 2005 July 30; 331(7511): 281–288.
Suspected research fraud: difficulties of getting at
the truth
Caroline White, freelance medical journalist1
―When research misconduct is suspected and the
researcher is working outside the jurisdiction of
official research bodies, there is nowhere for
editors to turn. If they want to investigate their
concerns, they are invariably forced to go it
alone—a lengthy, costly, and difficult process‖

21. Dr. Ram B.Singh
• First author on 28 full articles between 1989 and 1993,
• Five large intervention trials within the space of 18 months
• BMJ, AJC , Lancet, IJC and other high impact journals
• Who should carry out the research?
• ICMR

22. The best succumb…
• Chamberlain: transposition of an ectopic
pregnancy to the uterus.
• Andrew Weikfield: MMR vaccine with autism
• Scott Reuben: Pain management
• Dr. Anil Potti: genomics in chemotherapy

23. How fraud affects us?
• Breast cancer treatment
• Cardioprotective diet
• Red wine and the heart

25. Responsibility of authors
• Duplication
• Guest/gift authorship
• Keep raw data
• Conflict of interest
• Ethical considerations

26. Responsibility of Institutions
• INVESTIGATE
• RETRACT
• PREVENT
• STEP DOWN

27. COLLEAGUES

28. JOURNALS
• Retract
• Expression of concern
• Corrections

30. Research:

31. Don‘t just do it, Do it right!

33. The Lazy person‘s guide to research

34. Thank
you!