China takes stern steps against those involved in author misconduct

Following the multiple cases of author misconduct in which Chinese researchers were involved, the Chinese government and a major funding agency in China are taking steps to put a stop to these incidents.

China is making strides at becoming the leading contributor to science and research. Despite this, the country has been faced with concerns about the rising instances of research misconduct and publishing malpractices in the recent years. As a result, the integrity of China’s research output has come under question and many published papers by Chinese researchers have been retracted; one of the most recent cases involves the retraction of 64 papers published in Springer, most of which appeared to have been authored by Chinese researchers.

To understand the extent of breach of ethics and find a solution to the problem, the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) has begun conducting detailed investigations. CAST also held discussions with researchers and took their opinions into consideration. It came to light that Chinese researchers have been involved in misconduct. However, the committee stated that, “the majority of the authors whose papers have been retracted did authorize a third party for submission assistance,” highlighting the role of third-party services that provide ghostwriting services and indulge in fraudulent practices. The CAST investigation also reported the lack of “clear stipulation on the ‘scientific services’ offered by a third party.” To set industry standards for legitimate English-language editing services, six editing companies formed the Alliance for Scientific Editing in China.

According to an article published in Science magazine, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) announced earlier this month that they would revoke the funding of those researchers who were involved in cases of retraction due to misconduct. “The employer of the offending researcher has to return all of the funding for the grant, regardless of how much of the money has been spent,” NSFC President Yang Wei said. He stressed the need to adopt zero tolerance in cases where researchers have adopted unethical research or publication practices.

Unfortunately, even though research misconduct or unethical publication may be a global problem, the recently reported, and much publicized, retractions have placed Chinese research and publication into the limelight. It is heartening that China is taking stern steps to prevent future cases of misconduct. However, perhaps it is time for China’s academic culture to change and move away from the “publish or perish” approach that places more emphasis on the volume of publication than the quality of research.