Causes of Scientific Fraud in Clinical Research - Essay Example

In doing so the report presents a discussion of the potential causes of scientific fraud and the conflicts of interests that characterize clinical research process. The report proceeds to analyze certain prominent cases of scientific fraud to understand the nature and scope of scientific fraud in medical research, its perpetration, and detection. A discussion on the detection of scientific frauds, the legal framework or the lack of it in addressing scientific frauds in the U.S. and the measures for preventing scientific fraud are also presented.

Fraud and misconduct in clinical and/or medical research have emerged as a serious white-collar crime over the past decade in the U.S. and elsewhere. Yet, general articles on white-collar crimes only rarely address the issue of clinical research fraud. Though the press and media have reported many shocking cases of fraud involving scientists at top research centers since the 1980s, perhaps due to the complex intricacies of clinical research, fraud in the area is categorized as "scientific fraud," a specialty by itself, and largely excluded from the domain of public knowledge.

Though an interest in the phenomenon has increased steadily in the recent years, and many academic studies have been published on the subject, comprehensive information on the types as well as the characteristics of fraud, and its implication to biomedical research is still not common knowledge, not to mention its detection and elimination of fraud. The paper attempts to understand the nature and characteristics of fraud, particularly 'scientific' or academic misconduct associated with human subject protection and the implications of these misconducts by researchers to clinical research.

While fraud by pharmaceutical companies and other interest groups is a major area of the topic the study essentially focuses on fraud perpetrated by researchers and scientists working in the area of clinical and medical research. The institutional interests are only discussed to the extent it impacts research ethics and good scientific practice. Fraud in Clinical Research - An Overview Clinical and medical research are academic areas considered to be and should be, honest, objective and responsible.

However, the numerous cases of alleged fraudulent behavior by the scientific community revealed over the past two decades exemplify the deep-seated culture of corruption in medical research and experimentation.