Confidentiality and Federal Requirements
Related Federal Requirements
Purdue’s Policy on Research Misconduct and Procedures for Addressing Allegations of Research Misconduct has been written to be consistent with a number of Federal Regulations that govern how allegations of potential misconduct within federally funded research are handled, especially:
- U.S. Office of Science and Technology unified Research Misconduct Policy 65 FR 76260
- Public Health Services Policies on Research Misconduct 42 CFR 50 and 93 (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Research Integrity, which includes the National Institutes of Health)
- National Science Foundation 45 CFR 698
Other relevant regulations and policies include:
- Department of Defense Instruction Number 3210.7
- NASA 14 CFR 1275
- Department of Energy Policy on Research Misconduct 70 CFR 123
- Department of Veteran’s Affairs Handbook 1058.2
- National Endowment for the Humanities Research Misconduct Policy
- Environmental Protection Agency Policy and Procedure for Addressing Research Misconduct
Confidentiality
Broad confidentiality requirements apply throughout Purdue’s processes for allegations of research misconduct (except as required by applicable laws or regulations, and except for those who need to know for the University to conduct its proceedings). This includes those who bring forth allegations, and those about whom allegations are made. Compliance with these confidentiality rules is required by the Policy and Procedures, which also stipulate that violating confidentialities may constitute misconduct, which can subject the violator to discipline under other university policies, practices, and procedures.
The Research Integrity Officer will receive an allegation of research misconduct in confidence and advise the complainant on the confidentiality and non-retaliation protections set forth in the Policy. Whereas an anonymous allegation can be made via the Purdue Hotline (see below), such an allegation can be difficult to process without the ongoing cooperation of the complainant.