An ad hoc committee under the oversight of COSEPUP will undertake a revision of the Responsible Science study first issued in 1992. The committee will be charged with addressing the following questions:

What is the state of current knowledge about modern research practices for a range of disciplines, including trends and practices that could affect the integrity of research? What is the impact of modern technology such as image enhancement, the internet, and data storage systems?

What are the impacts on integrity of changing trends in the dynamics of the research enterprise, such as globalization, the treatment of intellectual property, handling of materials and specimens, university oversight and IRBs, and demands of government regulation?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of enhanced educational efforts and explicit guidelines for researchers and research institutions? Can the research community itself define and strengthen basic standards for scientists and their institutions? How is this impacted by increased collaboration among researchers, in the US and internationally?

What roles are appropriate for government agencies, research institutions and universities, and journals in promoting responsible research practices? What can be learned from institutional and journal experiences with current procedures for handling allegations of misconduct in science?

What should the definition of research misconduct include? Should it only include the criteria of “falsification, fabrication and plagiarism” (drawn from the 1992 edition of Responsible Science) or should it be broadened to include elements of questionable research practices and research impropriety?

Should existing unwritten practices be expressed as principles to guide the responsible conduct of research? The committee is encouraged to prepare model guidelines and other materials if it deems that would be useful.