Abstract
The aim of this study is to review the inquiry process used in scientific misconduct cases in the Ankara Chamber of Medicine between the years 1998 and 2012. The violations of the “Disciplinary Regulations of the Turkish Medical Association” have been examined by keeping the names of the people, institutions, associations and journals secret. In total, 31 files have been studied and 11 of these files have been identified as related to scientific misconduct. The methods of inquiry, the decisions about the need for an investigation process, the types of scientific misconduct, and the adjudication processes have all been reported. Furthermore, the motives of researchers who made allegations, the study approaches of investigators, and the objections to the decisions about guilt and innocence have also been examined. Based on the findings obtained, the reasons for scientific misconduct and the distribution of responsibilities among the people in the inquiry process have been discussed. A major conclusion is the need to standardize the process of conducting inquiries about scientific misconduct cases for the regional chambers of medicine in Turkey.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks goes to Ozden Sener, the head of Ankara Chamber of Medicine (ACM) and all the technical and office personnel of ACM for their support of this work. For their efforts in reviewing this paper, thanks also goes to Dr. Beverley Gilligan from Boston Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Dennis Kinney, both in the FIC/NIH (R25TW009248) program in the USA.
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Gökçay, B., Arda, B. A Review of the Scientific Misconduct Inquiry Process, Ankara Chamber of Medicine, Turkey. Sci Eng Ethics 23, 1097–1112 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-016-9824-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-016-9824-8