Should research fraud be a criminal offence?

Research fraud, the deliberate falsification of research data, undermines science and can lead to horrible outcomes, as exemplified by Andrew Wakefield and the MMR/Autism scandal.

A new Head to Head in The BMJ sets out the case for and against making research fraud a crime.

Arguing yes is Prof. Zulfiqar Bhutta, from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, who says that criminal sanctions are necessary to deter growing deliberate research misconduct, which can ultimately harm patients.

Prof. Julian Crane, from the University of Otago Wellington, disagrees: he doubts that sanctions will have any deterrent effect and worries that criminalisation would undermine trust.

Read the full debate:

http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g4532