<< Previous Section | < Previous Page | Next Page > | Next Section >> Case: Possible Misconduct As the university ombudsperson you find yourself meeting with Al Gianni a distinguished faculty member who appears somewhat distraught. He explains his predicament as follows: "About three months ago I fired a post-doctoral fellow for chronic absence and lateness and for trying to get others to do her work. The remainder of the lab had brought her failings to my attention and with regret I let her go. She promptly found a comparable position in another lab in a nearly research building. As part of a new paper I recently started writing up a series of experiments she carried out on samples from a clinical trial. Both the statistician and I independently found that the data were tampered with. She altered the computer print outs and enhanced the information in the database so that the results became highly significant instead of indeterminate. We checked this over and over and we are sure she falsified the data. The studies had been completed before we began the process of firing her. I am glad we found it before publication and can prevent it from ever seeing the light of day. I am worried that she could do this again in current and future positions and contaminate the scientific literature. I really don't know how to proceed and thought I'd see you right away to help me out. Questions: What would you ask Dr. Gianni? What would you tell him about his responsibilities? Would you give him advice? If, so what advice? << Previous Section | < Previous Page | Next Page > | Next Section >> Chapter 8 Quick Links Malfeasance and Misconduct Definitions Process Whistleblowing Litigation, the New Approach to Research Management The Importance of Trust Cases Bibliography Chapter 8 Download (PDF)