How the National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General Promotes Research Integrity

Among its duties, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Inspector General is responsible for helping ensure the integrity of research programs at NSF. We investigate allegations of research misconduct (plagiarism, falsification, and fabrication) in NSF proposals and awards. We handle allegations of conflict of interests and violations of the confidentiality of NSF’s merit review to ensure the integrity of that process. We also investigate allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers.

We recently analyzed our plagiarism cases of the previous decade to accumulate data and identify potential institutional strategies for preventing and reducing plagiarism. I will briefly discuss these topics and present our results.