Final answer:
c)Plagiarism is a common form of research misconduct, and both fabrication and misrepresentation of data also constitute serious misconduct with potentially severe consequences.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer is c) Plagiarism is a common form of research misconduct. Research misconduct encompasses various unethical practices, such as fabrication of data, plagiarism, and misrepresentation of facts. Fabrication, like altering or inventing data, is indeed considered serious misconduct. Contrary to some misconceptions, plagiarism can be unintentional such as when students are careless with note-taking or paraphrasing, yet it's still a violation of academic integrity. Some examples of misconduct include creating datasets that confirm expected outcomes, altering data, or misreporting the number of experimental subjects. It's important to note that these unethical behaviors can significantly affect the reliability of research and have serious consequences. These consequences may include damage to the researcher's reputation, retractions of published work, and academic sanctions.