Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/392125
There has been a lot of debate in recent years about research integrity and how to prevent misconduct. This will all be entwined with your own institution's policy or policies on conflicts of interest and ethics. The UK Research Integrity Office is an advisory body which helps to direct researchers, organisations and the public to regulatory bodies when where no overall regulation applies. It publishes various documents including a Code of Practice for Research, which contains a Recommended Checklist for Researchers, a one-page, non-technical checklist for the key points of good practice in research.. It also has a free of charge advisory service. The NHS has its own Research Governance Framework for instance. In the USA they have the Office of Research Integrity, part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Any research misconduct strikes at the heart of what a research institution is all about and undermines the public confidence in research and researchers. Some research funders insist on research institutions having a policy in place to cover these issues before funding is granted. Research misconduct may sometimes constitute a criminal offence e.g. conspiracy to defraud. Some areas of research have particular legislation which will apply specifically to them such as genetic modification, research on human tissue, experimentation using animals. You may have to have licences or follow certain protocols. As a researcher you must ensure that you are familiar with any of these which is applicable to you and that you and also your colleagues are complying. You should consider whether your research gives rise to any conflicts of interest. Might the interests of the funder conflict with the interests of your institution. This might be because the funder supports policies that your institution would not condone. It may be because the funder would want to control publication of results if they were adverse to its interests. The majority of a university's or PSRE's research should further the institution's objectives and not simply be undertaken because of the cash rewards that come with it. 50 Research Integrity Section 12