1.2.3 Data use

Fabricating or falsifying results, misrepresenting data and using electronic data sources inappropriately are all different ways of misusing data. They are obviously not ethical practices so why do people do it?

Students, and even academics and researchers, may use data inappropriately to obtain grants or funding, improve their research record, or complete their work in a limited time. However, whatever the reason, academic fraud has serious consequences.

Academic fraud not only damages the individual's career, but can also result in a loss of trust in the researcher's colleagues and the reputation of the institution. It also negatively impacts future research as it provides an unsound basis for researchers. So the moral of all this is, "never fake it to make it".

• Fabricating or falsifying data

  A student researching tortoises was running out of time to complete his paper and decided to create some of the results for the distance and speed travelled by these animals.

  However, the speeds and distances he invented were some of the fastest and longest ever recorded!

  This resulted in a call from a prominent overseas university questioning the results.

• The misuse of electronic data sources

  In a tutorial presentation, a student used part of a film which she had illegally downloaded.

• Fabricating or falsifying data

  A student writing about a subject in a case study could not find a quote in her interview transcript to support her argument.

  She decided to create just one sentence which would fit in perfectly.

• Fabricating or falsifying data

  A student claimed he could transplant tissue between animals which were genetically unrelated. His proof of this was black patches of skin in white mice.

  However, it was uncovered that these patches of black skin were actually drawn on with a felt-tip marker and could be removed with alcohol.

• Misrepresentation of data

  Based on a set of results on the rate of obesity in children, a student concluded that the data he reviewed demonstrated a clear upward trend and thus predicted future rises.

  However, the student only included data from 2 years of a 10-year study.

  The results from the 10-year study actually showed an overall decline and predicted future decreases in the rate.

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