Print

Preface As an undergraduate and graduate student, I was fortunate to have wonderful research mentors. My mentors taught me how to think creatively and strategically about pressing health issues, how to develop a realistic study proposal, and how to collaborate with others, collect data, and, most important, how to act with pro- fessionalism and integrity. My background in nursing helped. In nursing, honesty, integrity, and professionalism are essential to patient care. Nurses are required to report suspicions of professional misconduct. Failure to report could result in sus- pension of one’s nursing license. As part of the academic process, faculty members are required to review other faculty members. The first time I came across research misconduct was as a fac- ulty member. I was shocked and disheartened. I distanced myself from the indi- vidual and the situation. The person eventually left the institution. The second time I discovered misconduct, I was less shocked. I quietly and confidentially advised the individual of what I had found. She lashed out, spreading nasty rumors. The third time I noticed research misconduct, I was warned to stay silent and advised that “everyone does it.” “It” being research misconduct. Six weeks later, my annual review noted that I was a failure in service. The failure came out of the blue. I had never received any indication that my service was unsatisfac- tory. I started to realize that the response “everyone does it” may have been more a little more accurate than I wanted to believe. I was naive. My mentors had never schooled me on the fact that “everyone does it.” I am wiser now. What I experienced is nothing in comparison to the retaliation experienced by Walter DeNino, Tyler Shultz, Betty Dong, Nancy Olivieri, and Kenneth Sloane. Skewed Studies: Exploring the Limits and Flaws of Health and Psychology Research is in honor of students, would-be and actual whistle-blower and those who have suffered personal and professional attack because you thought science should be honest and that scientists should act with integrity. I believe that the best way to stop scientific misconduct is to speak out. Distancing ourselves,