Late last month, the Chinese government announced that over 400 researchers that contributed to approximately 100 scientific papers, now retracted, will receive disciplinary action due to peer-review fraud. Chinese officials stated they have a “zero tolerance” policy for research fraud and that the scientists’ transgressions have damaged the country’s scientific reputation. Penalties include canceled promotions, honors and grants, as well as many institutions barring the accused scientists from continuing their research at their facilities. Of the approximate 100 papers, 80 papers contained actual research outcomes, 9 were completely fraudulent and 12 had been bought from third parties by the “authors,” according to the investigation conducted by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). MOST also concluded that 95 papers provided by third-party companies had cited false experts and reviews, and that in at least 6 cases, at least 1 author committed the fraud themselves.

While China has had issues with research fraud in the past, these penalties are considered to be the harshest. Many agencies joined MOST to investigate the matter, including the Ministry of Education, and the China Association for Science and Technology.

Source: Science