1) Fabrication of data
In some cases, when an experiment takes more time and effort than expected or when it is not considered successful, made-up numbers are reported as observation data without further experimentation. For example, a student is conducting a physical experiment to observe the formation of bubbles. He makes 10 measurements but doesn’t have enough time to conduct more experimentation. If he describes it as if he had measured 50 bubbles, it would be considered fabrication. The actual measured data should always be reported.
2) Falsification of data
In some instances, when there is a range in the observed results, only the numbers that are close to the expected ones are used for consideration. For example, when a chemical experiment is conducted to measure the pH change of a chemical reaction, the data will differ from study to study. If some results are omitted or the more convenient results are selected to obtain as “clear” a data as possible, it results in falsification. In this case, the numbers should not reflect the experimenter’s intention.
3) Plagiarism of images
Some publications publish photographs of research subjects and materials, experiments and research scenes, experimental equipment, and the like. There is no problem using pictures you or others took with permission. But copying and pasting images from the web without permission is considered plagiarism. Try to use your own images in publications, and if you’re using someone else’s, identify the source of those images.