[aabaker99]

It is true that as the author of a research paper it is my decision how to present it. However, if you're too far off the mark, you are just going to be rejected by peer review or they will ask for revisions. The fact is as a PhD student, you are trying to join the research community. You aren't in a position to change that community. You have to tailor your work and statements to fit the mold. Students who are outspoken voicing these concerns, especially if they rise to the level of abuse or research misconduct, must tread carefully. A case I was made aware of in the study of research ethics is of Anil Potti [1], [2]. From [2], the statement from the whistleblower, "In raising these concerns, I have nothing to gain and much to lose" is apt.

For more mild cases, like those mentioned in the article, the stakes are lower but there is also more plausible deniability. If Duke University tried to bury even the blatant abuse, you can imagine how it is also hard to confront the article's so-called "mundane, day-to-day fraud".

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anil_Potti [2] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/01/duke-university-offi...