On the Willingness to Report and the Consequences of Reporting Research Misconduct: The Role of Power Relations

Abstract

While attention to research integrity has been growing over the past decades, the processes of signalling and denouncing cases of research misconduct remain largely unstudied. In this article, we develop a theoretically and empirically informed understanding of the causes and consequences of reporting research misconduct in terms of power relations. We study the reporting process based on a multinational survey at eight European universities (N = 1126). Using qualitative data that witnesses of research misconduct or of questionable research practices provided, we aim to examine actors' rationales for reporting and not reporting misconduct, how they report it and the perceived consequences of reporting. In particular we study how research seniority, the temporality of work appointments, and gender could impact the likelihood of cases being reported and of reporting leading to constructive organisational changes. Our findings suggest that these aspects of power relations play a role in the reporting of research misconduct. Our analysis contributes to a better understanding of research misconduct in an academic context. Specifically, we elucidate the processes that affect researchers' ability and willingness to report research misconduct, and the likelihood of universities taking action. Based on our findings, we outline specific propositions that future research can test as well as provide recommendations for policy improvement. Keywords Research integrity · Research misconduct · Whistleblowing · Power relations · OrganisationsSerge P. J. M. Horbach and Eric Breit have contributed equally to this article. Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (https ://doi.

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“…However, this does not seem to be the only problem. Previous studies have shown that failures to enforce codes and regulations can lead to reluctance to report (Horbach et al 2020;McCabe, Trevino, and Butterfield 2001). To this, our study adds that harsh punishments and zero-tolerance policies -or just unclear policies -may turn out to have the unintended side-effect that students will be reluctant to report peers.…”

“…When addressing students' reluctance to report their peers, it is important to understand the reasons for their reluctance. So far, the main reasons reported in the literature are 1) camaraderie (or similar forms of misplaced group loyalty) and 2) fear of retaliation (Rennie and Crosby 2002;Pupovac, Popović, and Blažina 2019;Horbach et al 2020;McCabe, Trevino, and Butterfield 2001).…”

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“…Vincent Larivière and colleagues, in their analysis of authorship, emphasise the importance of contributorship and contributor statements, given the growing fragmentation of tasks that characterizes collaborative research (Larivière et al, 2016). Serge Horbach and colleagues, in an empirical investigation of the reporting of research misconduct note the role of power relations in the reporting of such misconduct, pointing to how 'younger researchers, researchers with temporary appointments and those in lower academic positions are less likely to act and report than their senior and permanently appointed colleagues' (Horbach et al, 2020). But while such research does consider discuss divisions of labour, it shies away from investigation of the material underpinnings and consequences of such division of labour.…”

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