Paper - Scientific misconduct, Kuhnian scientific revolutions and scientific ethics

In a paper published two months ago, the author presents a proposal for sanctions (refer to the end of this post) aimed at preventing or eliminating the occurrence of scientific misconduct acts. The problem in adopting such a radical and punitive strategy lies in the naïve assumption that imposing severe penalties alone can effectively address the issue of scientific misconduct. 

This belief is misguided, as the deterrence hypothesis proves to be a fallacy, applicable not only to blood-related crimes but also to academic offenses. A more prudent approach for academia would be to reform the reward system, as recommended in a 2014 paper  (refer to Table 2) by Stanford Professor John Ioannidis.

- Level One Violations is to be sanctioned by Debarment for three years from obtaining any Research Grants from Government Funding Agencies and Private Research Foundations. ·    

- Level Two Violations is to be sanctioned by Debarment for five years from obtaining any Research Grants from Government Funding Agencies and Private Research Foundations. ·   

 - Level Three Violations is to be sanctioned by Debarment for ten years from obtaining any Research Grants from Government Funding Agencies and Private Research Foundations. ·    

- Level Four Violations (involving abuse and mistreatment of Animal Subjects) is to be sanctioned by Debarment for fifteen years from obtaining any Research Grants from Government Funding Agencies and Private Research Foundations. ·   

- Level Five Violations (involving physical and mental harm of Human Subjects) is to be sanctioned by Debarment for twenty years from obtaining any Research Grants from Government Funding Agencies and Private Research Foundations. ·   

-  Level Six Violations (involving death of Human Subjects or Scientific Fraud) is to be sanctioned by Debarment for twenty five years from obtaining any Research Grants from Government Funding Agencies and Private Research Foundations and Recommending Criminal Prosecution