Scientific Misconduct as an International Issue - New OECD project and its implication to national policy -

Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism (so-called FFP), and other unethical acts damage the trust of public in science and scientists. Scientific communities, governments and research institutions should take the appropriate countermeasures. With the increasing visibility and importance of problem, funding agencies and policy-makers find that they must have a better understanding of this phenomenon, and take steps to prevent it. Science is often said as a borderless activity. In these days, many scientific misconduct cases have been emerging almost simultaneously and worldwide. Thus, the immediate actions should be taken internationally as well as nationally. From these points of view, we, Japan, proposed a new international joint-study at OECD Global Science Forum in February 2006, and the proposal was approved with supports by many countries including Korea. OECD would seek an international perspective to address this worldwide problem, bringing together the representatives of science communities, publishers, funding agencies, and policy makers, and exchanging their experiences.