The Punishment Intensity for Research Misconduct and Its Related Factors: An Exploratory Study on Hospitals in Mainland China

Previous studies (Long et al. 2023) have found that factors such as gender and academic positions do not influence the severity of administrative actions taken by institutions. However, this study provides inconsistent evidence; it focuses on incidents of research misconduct in hospitals across Mainland China, exploring factors related to punishment through a large cross-sectional dataset (_N_=815). Regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between authorship order and the punishment intensity (_p_<0.05). Under specific conditions, there was a significant correlation between professional title (senior) and punishment intensity (_p_=0.001), and an interaction between professional title and types of research misbehavior. Further analysis of simple effects showed that, in cases of fabrication and falsification, and combinations of multiple research misbehavior, researchers with senior titles received significantly lighter punishments compared to those with junior, intermediate, and associate senior titles (_p_<0.05). The study unveils potential accountability patterns (collective accountability and tiered punishment) that may be adopted by hospitals in Mainland China, as well as the challenges faced in ensuring fairness, emphasizing the importance of independent investigative bodies for incidents of research misconduct and advocating for fairness as a priority in governance of research misconduct.