ABSTRACT

Value systems cover all the measures of the non-material qualities of human life. Scientists were considered more honest than ordinary citizens, and hence an idea was current that research dishonesty did not occur outside fiction. The driving force that unites the motives into active dishonesty varies from a criminal element to more cautious attempts to buy valid currency on the black market. Experience from national control systems has shown how important it is to create a new category between full-blown scientific dishonesty and full respect for all the relevant ethical values. The imbalance of power between scientists, local co-workers, and participating citizens, and differences and conflicts related to benefits, mean that committee members and editors must be more alert in the prevention or detection of dishonesty such as the ‘rubber-stamping’ of research protocols by non-independent committee members.