Research Integrity

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What is Essential

Federal regulations define research misconduct as plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification of research data. It is the responsibility of individual institutions, including Harvard, to prevent and detect its occurrence.

Policy Contacts

Matthew Fox, J.D.
Senior Research Compliance Officer

How to Comply

Harvard has adopted an Interim Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct. Several schools have implemented school-specific procedures (see below), consistent with the terms of the University policy.

Why it’s Important

Integrity in all scholarship is a foundational principle that underlies Harvard’s core mission to discover, transmit and apply new knowledge for the benefit of society.

In recent decades, the federal agencies that fund scientific research have promoted research integrity under the rubric of the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), which parses research integrity into specific activities ranging from authorship to data sharing to behaviors defined by the federal government as research misconduct.

Although the federal government mandates research integrity policies for activities it funds, it is the responsibility of individual institutions to prevent and detect its occurrence. At Harvard, each school creates, implements, and enforces its own research integrity and misconduct policies, consistent with federal requirements. For school-based information regarding research integrity, please refer to the materials collected on the Resources page.

Report Non-Compliance

If you observe or suspect apparent research misconduct, you should report it to the Research Integrity Officer (RIO) for your school or unit. If you are not sure whether the behavior in question constitutes research misconduct – defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reporting research – you may discuss it with the RIO, who can help you to determine the appropriate venue in which to address it.

Every member of the University community has a duty to act when the learn about situations where University policies (including research misconduct among others) or legal obligations are being violated, and the University has a complementary duty to protect the rights of those who come forward. Depending on the nature of the concern you have about possible non-compliance, there are many options available to assist you in deciding what action to take.

As noted above, if your concerns relate to research misconduct, you should discuss them with the RIO for your school or unit. For other matters, if you choose not to share your concerns with a supervisor or other person of authority in the unit where you work, the University Ombuds provides guidance about a broad range of issues, including many that fall in the category of non-compliance.  There is also an anonymous Compliance Hotline that can be reached by telephone or by completing an online form. Finally, the University’s Chief Research Compliance Officer, Ara Tahmassian, can be consulted on all areas of research misconduct.

Relevant Contacts

University’s Chief Research Compliance Officer
Ara Tahmassian
617-496-8462

Harvard Ombuds Office
Website
617-495-7748
ombuds_cambridge@harvard.edu

Faculty of Arts and Sciences
John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences 

Stacey Springs
Research Integrity Officer
617-495-0718

Graduate School of Design
Department Chairs
Architecture
617-495-2591
Landscape Architecture
617-495-2573
Urban Planning and Design
617-495-9571

Graduate School of Education
Daphne Layton
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
617-495-0449

Harvard Business School
Jean Cunningham
Assistant Dean, Administrative and Educational Affairs
617-495-6216

Harvard Divinity School
Jane Smith
Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs
617-496-1950

Harvard Kennedy School
Matt Alper
Associate Dean for Research
617-496-8813

Harvard Law School
Catherine Claypoole
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Chief of Staff
617-496-3487

Harvard Medical School
Office for Academic and Research Integrity
617-432-1343
ARI@hms.harvard.edu

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Delia Wolf
Associate Dean for Regulatory Affairs & Research Compliance
617-432-2148


Training: Research Integrity Training