Measures against research fraud

It has been discovered that a researcher at the Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet Hospital Trust has fabricated data for use in scientific research. An article based on this fraudulent research was published in the medical journal The Lancet in October 2005.

The Norwegian government takes the research fraud very seriously, and gives high priority to measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Actions taken by the Norwegian government:

The Minister of Education and Research, Mr Øystein Djupedal, has met with heads of Norwegian universities and colleges, and has emphasised the responsibility that rests with these institutions to ensure that their research conforms to the highest ethical standards. Higher education and research institutions have an obligation to develop quality assurance systems to prevent and uncover research fraud. Ethics should be an integral part of the education provided at all levels.
The Norwegian government will establish a national commission against research fraud. The proposal to establish such a commission will be presented to the parliament this spring. The commission will function as a resource for institutions that are faced with incidents of research fraud that cannot or should not be handled internally.
In order to ensure that internal quality assurance systems for medical research in Norwegian hospitals are adequate, the Minister of Health and Care Services, Ms Sylvia Brustad, has instructed the five Regional Health Authorities in Norway to report on existing systems by March 2006.
In 2005, a government-appointed committee recommended a new act to promote ethically sound medical and health research (NOU 2005:1 Good research - better health). On the basis of the committee’s report, the Norwegian government will propose new regulations for medical and health research to the parliament later this year.

Measures taken by the hospital trust to handle this incident of fraud:

Following the discovery of the fraud, the Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet Hospital Trust informed all affected national and international partners and associates. It was decided that all articles published by the researcher concerned would be scrutinised, and that an investigation would be launched to determine how it was possible for the fraud to pass undetected by co-authors, the journal and the hospital’s control routines.
An external investigation committee has been established and has begun its work. Professor Anders Ekbom of Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm is chairing the committee, which includes representatives from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the Research Council of Norway and other relevant institutions. The committee has been given access to all of the researcher’s data.

The Norwegian government recognises the gravity of the research fraud that has been uncovered, but would like to emphasise that research fraud is rare in Norway, and that Norwegian research communities subscribe to high ethical standards.

(23.01.06)