Research misconduct is dishonest behavior in research or publication. Examples:

• Fabrication: making up data or results.
• Falsification: changing data, images, or results so they are not accurate.
• Plagiarism: using the work of others without credit, including duplicate publication (see the Plagiarism Policy).
• Authorship problems: adding or leaving out authors unfairly.
• Ethical violations: research with participants without ethical approval or informed consent.

Anyone can report a concern about a submitted or published article. Please email the editorial office with the article title, the problem, and any evidence you have.

Reports are kept confidential.

1. The editors read the report and check whether it is serious and has evidence.
2. The authors are told about the concern and may respond.
3. The editors decide what action to take, based on the evidence.
4. The people involved are informed of the decision.

• No problem found: no action.
• Small error: the authors correct the article and a correction notice is published.
• Serious misconduct in a submitted manuscript: the manuscript is rejected.
• Serious misconduct in a published article: the article is retracted with a public notice. See Correction and Retraction.

Fairness: authors always have a chance to respond before a decision is made, and people who report in good faith are not penalized.