Source | Supervision Department of the Ministry of Science and Technology

On November 7, 2024, the Supervision Department of the Ministry of Science and Technology released the "Demonstration Text of Research Integrity Management System for Scientific Research Units" (click) https://www.most.gov.cn/kjbgz/202411/t20241107_192290.html ）This measure is mainly aimed at preventing academic misconduct, ensuring the authenticity and reliability of scientific research results, and further guiding research institutions to effectively fulfill their main responsibility for scientific research integrity construction, improve the internal governance capacity of scientific research integrity, and establish a long-term mechanism for scientific research integrity construction.

At the same time, it also complements the "blue sky action" of the China National Intellectual Property Administration against abnormal patent applications.

Article 30: Scientific researchers shall conduct self-examination before publishing papers and other scientific research achievements, focusing on checking the substantial contributions and ranking order of authors and other achievement completion personnel, data reliability, scientific and technological ethics review, etc., and sign a scientific research integrity commitment letter.

For those who have published multiple papers, obtained multiple patents, and other achievements in a short period of time that clearly do not conform to the laws of scientific research output, the scientific research management institution shall organize empirical verification.

Papers published in academic journals on the 'blacklist' will not be recognized in various review evaluations, and the related expenses for publication will not be reimbursed.

With the increasingly fierce competition in scientific research, some researchers may neglect quality in pursuit of quantity, and even resort to unethical means to publish papers or apply for patents. In order to curb this negative trend, the Ministry of Science and Technology has taken measures of empirical verification, aiming to ensure the authenticity and reliability of scientific research results and maintain scientific research integrity through strict review procedures.

The content of empirical verification may include:

3. Tracing the scientific research process to ensure that the achievement of scientific research results complies with scientific research norms and ethical requirements.

This is a positive and necessary measure for the Ministry of Science and Technology to organize empirical verification for researchers who have published multiple papers, obtained multiple patents, and other achievements in a short period of time.

Beneficial for maintaining scientific research integrity. Research integrity is the cornerstone of scientific research. Through empirical verification, it is possible to promptly detect and correct certain individuals' research misconduct, such as plagiarism and data falsification, thereby maintaining the fairness and credibility of scientific research. This is crucial for promoting technological progress and innovation throughout society.

Beneficial for improving the overall quality of scientific research achievements. Empirical verification helps ensure the authenticity and reliability of scientific research results. For researchers who have published multiple papers or obtained multiple patents in a short period of time, empirical verification can verify the originality and innovation of their results, avoiding low-quality or repetitive research occupying research resources.

Beneficial for promoting the healthy development of scientific research. Through empirical verification, problems and deficiencies in the scientific research process can be identified in a timely manner, providing direction for improvement and perfection for researchers. This helps to promote the sustained and healthy development of scientific research, improve the level and influence of scientific research.

Beneficial for enhancing public trust. The authenticity and reliability of scientific research results directly affect the public's trust in scientific research. Through empirical verification, it can enhance the public's trust in scientific research achievements, improve the social recognition and influence of scientific research.

Beneficial for positively guiding the behavior of researchers. The measures of empirical verification can play a certain guiding and constraining role for researchers. It reminds researchers to always maintain scientific integrity, pay attention to the quality and innovation of scientific research results, and avoid pursuing quantity while neglecting quality.