Research Misconduct Policies

Academic Misconduct in Research and Scholarship

MIT’s established process for receiving and addressing allegations of possible misconduct in research conducted by members of the MIT community is overseen by the Vice President for Research (VPR). The process is set forth in MIT’s Policies and Procedures § 10.1 Procedures for Dealing with Misconduct in Research and Scholarship (the "MIT Policy"):

• § 10.1.1 Unethical behavior in research and scholarship
• § 10.1.2 Definitions of Research Misconduct
• § 10.1.3 Responsibility To Report
• § 10.1.4 The Review Process
• § 10.1.5 Provisions Common to Misconduct Review Process

When the research or scholarly work in question is supported by federal funds, MIT and participants in the institutional review process must also comply with the applicable federal agency’s policy on research misconduct. In such instances additional requirements apply. For example, MIT may be required to submit the Inquiry Report to the funding agency, notify the funding agency before conducting an Investigation, and submit the Investigation Report and supporting evidence to the funding agency upon completion. The federal agency may accept MIT's determination, request additional information, or conduct an independent review. The federal agency’s policy or regulation, links to which are provided below, in conjunction with the MIT Policy, will provide the formal framework for considering questions of possible research misconduct.

For any federal research agency or department not listed here, contact the Research Integrity Team (researchintegrity@mit.edu).

Student Misconduct in Research and Scholarship 

Allegations that a student falsified, fabricated, or plagiarized the research record, or deliberately interfered in the work of others, in connection with research activities at MIT (as those terms are defined in § 10.1.2) are subject to review under this policy regardless of the funding source. For allegations involving federally funded research, the student is also subject to the federal sponsor’s policy for addressing allegations of Research Misconduct, which will apply in conjunction with this policy.  

If MIT finds that a student is responsible for engaging in research misconduct, the Vice President for Research will provide the decision and final report to MIT’s Chair of the Committee on Discipline (COD) for a determination of sanctions under the COD Rules.