Beyond plagiarism: where does scientific misconduct begin?

Abstract

Cases of violation of academic integrity among high-ranking politicians and scientists in Germany have shocked the public when it became known that these had fabricated the results of their research or committed plagiarism in their dissertation. However, where does scientific misconduct begin? There seems to exist a grey area of breaches of good research practice. I will explore it and inquire particularly into the practice of misquoting, using quotes out of context and omitting data that do not fit the author\’s argument. I will also examine the conditions and circumstances under which such practices seem to have increased over the past decades. The main example, which illustrates such practices, constitutes the research, publication and exhibition projects of the Göttingen Cook/Forster Collection and the way in which they became misrepresented.