A. Introduction

The conduct of scholarly activity requires intellectual honesty and integrity. Integrity in the conduct of scholarly activity is essential and must be maintained. Although instances of misconduct are rare, when they do occur they can be destructive of the standards we attempt to instill in our students, of the esteem in which academic research in general is held by the public, and of the financial support of the government and other sponsors for academic research. The importance of integrity in research cannot be overemphasized.

This Policy provides the basis for uniform procedures for dealing with instances of alleged or apparent misconduct in research and the responsibilities for such actions.

This Policy is written and approved in accordance with Public Health Service regulation 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart A.