[Bad behaviors regarding research and scientific and medical publication]

Abstract

Since a few years, the number of cases of fraud reported in the scientific and medical literature and retraction of articles has increased exponentially. Such fraud is due to fabrication, falsification, theft, embellishment or retention of data, plagiarism, incorrect list of authors or undisclosed conflicts of interest. This tendency has been explained by the need to publish for career advancement or the future of the department, the search for notoriety, the desire to grow rich and the lack of motivation to seek the truth. This crisis can be controlled by measures at different levels: society, universities, scientific institutions, study promoters, scientific and medical journals. A legal framework at EU level would allow to combat such fraud more efficiently.