Science - USA (2022-03-04)

SCIENCE science.org 4 MARCH 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6584 979

By Li Tang

G

iven its sheer scale and growth,

China’s scientific research and devel-

opment (R&D) enterprise can have

tremendous effects across the global

scientific community in terms of both

research quality and research integ-

rity ( 1 , 2 ). Although issues of research fund-

ing and integrity arise in countries around

the globe, they are particularly salient in

China given the major role of government

funding in supporting research and the

alarming number of scientific publications

by authors affiliated with Chinese institu-

tions that have been retracted. With its

pivoting position in knowledge production,

the Chinese science grant system is taking a

greater role in curbing scientific misconduct

and fostering research integrity. Despite this,

several barriers remain.

The Chinese science grant system plays

a major role in supporting basic research,

including a huge amount of false science

as evidenced by journal retractions. Unlike

many counterparts in other countries,

many Chinese universities and research in-

stitutes are often reluctant to initiate and

publicize misconduct in’vestigations. As an

emerging science power, Chinese attention

toward spotting and stopping misconduct

is a rather recent phenomenon. With its

voluminous history of print publications, it

takes quite a while for the Chinese govern-

ment and scientific community to process

and prioritize certain misconducts to inves-

tigate, punish, and deter.

PROGRESS

Policy formulation

The Chinese scientific community has taken

proactive stances against academic mis-

conduct and toward fostering responsible

research. A series of policy documents, initia-

tives, and codes on research integrity, which

often involve the science grant system, were

issued, revised, and adopted across different

sectors over the past 3 years. For example, in

2019 the Ministry of Science and Technology

(MOST), the Central Propaganda Depart-

ment, the Ministry of Education (MOE), the

National Health Commission (NHC), the Na-

tional Natural Science Foundation of China

(NSFC), the Chinese Academy of Social Sci-

ences (CASS), the Ministry of Finance (MOF),

and 13 other central agencies jointly issued

The Rules for the Investigation and Handling

of Research Integrity Cases (Trial). Focusing

on research grants management, the revised

version of Measures for Investigation and

Handling of Scientific Research Misconduct

in National Natural Science Foundation of

China became effective from 1 January 2021.

The most recent and prominent change is

demonstrated in the Law on Scientific and

Technological Progress of the People’s Repub-

lic of China effective on 1 January 2022. This

marks the first time that Chinese law (in-

stead of past agency regulation or measures)

has prohibited individuals and organizations

from buying research papers, grant propos-

als, and laboratory experiments. In a depar-

ture from its 2007 version, research integrity

(pinyin, “keyan chengxin”) appeared in six

articles of the latest law promoting science,

technology, and innovation, laying legal foun-

dation of research integrity cultivation.

Implementation

In addition to issuing regulations and codes,

the enforcement efforts of the Chinese sci-

ence grant system in curbing misconduct

are evident. For example, the NSFC, China’s

largest funder of basic research, has ad-

opted an integrated approach to crack down

on funding-related misconduct. They limit

the number of proposals an individual can

submit per, for example, a given time, com-

petition, or agency; restrict the number of

supporting representative research publica-

tions that can be submitted; use plagiarism-

detection software for grant proposals;

publicize investigation results on confirmed

misconduct of both unfunded grant appli-

cations and awarded grants; release names

of proposal reviewers; and earmark grants

for research integrity studies.

The NSFC is not the only agency demon-

strating a strong commitment to research

integrity. In June 2021, the NHC launched

a special column on its official website, pro-

viding education and training on research

integrity for medical researchers and prac-

titioners and publicizing misconduct inves-

tigation results. Within 7 months (June to

December 2021), the NHC released 310 in-

vestigation results involving more than 850

researchers with confirmed research mis-

conduct, with punishments ranging from

admonishment to disqualification of career

promotions and grant applications in given

years to suspension and debarment. CASS,

the statutory agency overseeing integrity in

social and humanities research, launched

its official website of research integrity

in March 2021. The National Research

Integrity Information Management System

is in operation and has been compiling in-

formation from grantees (affiliations) on

proven misconducts, punitive actions, and

integrity construction.

Evaluation

Progress is also underway in how funding

proposals are evaluated and performance

of awarded grants is assessed, to counter-

act the detrimental effects of excessive pur-

suit of publishing in international journals.

Research evaluation practices that priori-

tized tallying articles published in interna-

tional journals have partially contributed to

excessive low-quality articles and false sci-

ence, which is detrimental to science glob-

ally. Encouraging publications in domestic

journals, decoupling cash bonuses from

publications included in the Science Citation

Index (SCI), and shifting emphasis in faculty

recruitment selection to teaching and train-

ing students are gradually taking place in

Chinese elite universities and research insti-

tutes. In the merit-review phase of awarded

grants , Chinese major administrative appa-

ratus and funding agencies such as MOST,

MOE, and NSFC have adopted a one-vote

veto of “scientific misconduct” in their fund-

ing and talent-rewarding decisions.

CHALLENGES

The science grant system still faces five bar-

riers that must be dealt with in its ongoing

mission of research integrity reform.

Dual absence of victim and complainant

The damage of research misconduct, al-

though affecting the entire scientific enter-

prise, is diffused and obscure for specific

individuals or groups. Potential direct vic-

tims bearing the cost of the violation could

be the general taxpayers or grantee’s substi-

tutes (the would-be awardees), who often ei-

ther do not care or are not aware of this cost.

Insiders may remain silent because of con-

RESEARCH INTEGRITY

A role for funders in fostering

China’s research integrity

Despite recent progress, challenges remain

POLICY FORUM

School of International Relations and Public Affairs,

Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.

Email: [email protected]