Academic misconduct in research is of growing concern to funding agencies, scholars, and academic journal editors. Scholarly publication has ethical implications researchers, reviewers, and journal editors. The theoretical background of the ethics of scholarly publication is explored as well as the use of a case study of an untenured researcher illustrates the dilemma faced by the researcher's colleagues, reviewers, and the journal editor. It also explores how the higher education culture promotes a "publish or perish" environment that impacts the behavior of faculty seeking tenure and promotion.