Research misconduct commonly refers to fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism of research results. Fabrication refers to making up data, falsification refers to manipulating or intentionally omitting data, and plagiarism is inappropriately taking another person’s ideas and presenting them as your own. The largest mistake we see institutions make when faced with an accusation of research misconduct is to not take it seriously or to not put enough vigor behind the preliminary assessment. Attorneys can be helpful to facilitate the process. While scientists are responsible for conducting the review of the data and determining its accuracy and veracity, lawyers can advise institutions about whether a particular accusation falls under a certain policy and the standards that exist for adjudicating it.