Universities and government research institutes could perhaps learn from the private sector when it comes to curbing research misconduct (Nature 481, 237–238; 2012).

Research entities should undergo independent audits of scientific data annually by certified public scientists, in much the same way as businesses and not-for-profit organizations are independently audited by certified financial accountants (J. L. Glick Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 265, 178–192; 1976). Data audits are common for corporate biotechnology laboratories, but not for academic ones.

I estimated that the costs of funding questionable research practices (such as data misrepresentation and fabrication of results) could be reduced by US$5–10 for each dollar spent on data audits (Account. Res. 2, 153–168; 1992). Besides being a cost-effective way of monitoring the integrity of research organizations, data auditing helps to reveal genuine errors.