Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
Reporting survey responses from 200 participants when only 80 were actually recruited.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Using synthetic data clearly labelled as such for a methods demonstration.
Editorial commentary
Fabrication is the most clear-cut form of research misconduct because the evidentiary chain is entirely invented. It is distinct from falsification, where real data exist but are manipulated. Common indicators include data values that lack the random variance expected from genuine measurement, instruments that show no usage logs for the recorded period, and participants who cannot be matched to recruitment records.
References
- US Office of Research Integrity, 42 CFR Part 93 (2005)
- Singapore Statement on Research Integrity (2010)
Also known as
data fabrication · made-up data
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
xml
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Fabrication"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/fabrication" />json
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"name": "Fabrication",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/fabrication",
"description": "Making up data or results and recording or reporting them as if real. A finding is fabricated if no underlying experiment, observation, or measurement actually produced it.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/research-integrity-and-misconduct/",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/fabrication",
"sameAs": [
"data fabrication",
"made-up data"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}
