Scientific dishonesty: a Danish proposal for evaluation and prevention.

The term scientific dishonesty covers the wide scope from consciously fraudulent actions to gross negligence and refers both to character trait and to actions. Scientific dishonesty may occur in any country, but reactions in Europe have been slow to emerge. On the basis of a thorough review, the Danish Medical Research Council therefore has made recommendations on how to handle and how to prevent scientific dishonesty. Suspected cases must be referred directly to a national committee chaired by a High Court judge. An ad hoc investigatory committee may be appointed in each case. If dishonesty is established, the institution then is asked to implement appropriate sanctions and to report on the actions taken to the national committee. Prevention of scientific dishonesty forms an essential part of good scientific practice and must have an impact on research training, requirements for data storage, guidelines for scientific publication, and criteria for evaluating grant proposals and promotions.