Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A postdoctoral researcher who reports suspected image duplication in their supervisor's grant figures through the institution's research-integrity office and is protected against subsequent retaliatory actions.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A person making allegations they know to be false in order to damage a competitor; such bad-faith reports are not protected and may themselves constitute misconduct.
Editorial commentary
Whistleblowers in research are protected under various national frameworks: in the US under 42 CFR Part 93 (which prohibits retaliation by PHS-funded institutions), in the UK under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 as amended, and across the EU under Directive (EU) 2019/1937. Protections typically depend on the disclosure being made through specified internal or external channels in good faith. ORI's 'Handling Misconduct – Whistleblowers' guidance, ENRIO statements, and the UKRIO Procedure all stress that whistleblowers must be treated confidentially and protected from retaliation, regardless of whether the underlying allegation is ultimately substantiated.
References
- US Office of Research Integrity, 42 CFR Part 93 (2005)
- EU Whistleblower Directive (EU) 2019/1937
- UKRIO Procedure for the Investigation of Misconduct in Research (current edition)
Also known as
complainant · research-integrity reporter · good-faith reporter
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Whistleblower (research)"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/whistleblower-research" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/whistleblower-research",
"name": "Whistleblower (research)",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/whistleblower-research",
"description": "A person who, in good faith, raises a concern about possible research misconduct, breach of research integrity, or other serious wrongdoing in a research context. The label applies when the concern is reported through a recognised channel and the reporter would benefit from protections against retaliation.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/research-integrity#set",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/whistleblower-research",
"sameAs": [
"complainant",
"research-integrity reporter",
"good-faith reporter"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"publisher": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
},
"dateModified": "2026-05-21T02:22:52",
"inLanguage": "en"
}
