Fabrication and Falsification

 

Fabrication involves inventing data, observations, participants, experiments, results, or other research information that did not exist. Falsification involves manipulating research materials, procedures, data, images, or results so that the research record no longer accurately represents what was conducted or observed. Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) considers both practices serious forms of research misconduct that undermine scholarly integrity.

Examples of Fabrication

Fabrication may include, but is not limited to, the following practices:

  • Inventing experimental observations or survey responses.
  • Creating datasets that were not actually collected.
  • Reporting experiments that were never conducted.
  • Inventing participants or research subjects.
  • Creating unsupported numerical results.
Examples of Falsification

Falsification may include the following forms of inappropriate manipulation:

  • Changing data to produce a desired outcome.
  • Removing observations without a valid methodological reason.
  • Manipulating figures or images in a misleading manner.
  • Selectively reporting results while concealing contradictory findings.
  • Misrepresenting statistical or computational analysis.
Research Integrity

Authors should retain appropriate research records and report analytical decisions transparently. Legitimate data cleaning, preprocessing, exclusion criteria, transformation, or statistical procedures should be documented sufficiently to allow readers to understand the research process. Authors submitting manuscripts to Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) are expected to ensure that all reported data and findings accurately reflect the research conducted.