Following Ethical Guidelines

Module 3: Fostering research integrity

Who is involved in ensuring that everyone learns and follows the highest standards of research and scholarly conduct?

Click on the segments below to learn about the roles and obligations of different stakeholders.

Research integrity: a collective effort

Collective and individual adherence to core values is necessary to safeguard knowledge. Policies exist at multiple levels to foster this integrity.

Government +−
Governments have an obligation to ensure the highest levels of integrity and the achievement of the societal benefits of all research that they sponsor with public funds and/or that is conducted in public institutions. To this end, government agencies establish policies, transparent procedures, and standards of practice. They require sponsored institutions to provide training in responsible conduct to all individuals engaged in the research enterprise.
Funding agencies +−

Research-sponsoring organizations:

  • Insert formal responsible conduct of research training requirements into their training grant applications
  • Require reviewers to sign confidentiality agreements and declare any conflict of interest they might have with the author of proposals they are asked to review
  • Prohibit reviewers from using information contained in a proposal for their benefit or that of another individual or organization.
Institutions and research administrators +−

Institutions that train and hire researchers must:

  • Deliver appropriate and regular instruction in responsible conduct of research
  • Establish and monitor policies and procedures to ensure the highest levels of adherence to research integrity and data management
  • Offer prompt and effective responses to allegations of misconduct or questionable research practices, while protecting good-faith whistleblowers.
Publishers & professional societies +−
Journal editors, publishing companies, and professional societies develop disciplinary authorship standards, guidelines for peer review, and requirements for reproducibility and data management. They also encourage authors to be ethically responsible and submit corrections or retractions when unintended errors are discovered, and have established policies for retractions when evidence of misconduct is presented.
Research advisors +−
Advisors must set a good example for their mentees by adhering to the core values of honesty, fairness, objectivity, openness, trustworthiness, and respect. They must maintain the rigor of the research enterprise, be knowledgeable about their institution's policies and procedures, be well-informed about their disciplinary standards, and stay alert and ready to provide advice to mentees or confront and correct unacceptable behavior.
Research trainees and members of the public +−

Student researchers must uphold the core values of ethical researchers, learn their institution's policies and procedures, become informed of their disciplinary standards, keep good research records, and understand how to proceed when they suspect violations of ethical standards among fellow researchers.

Members of the general public also foster research integrity by educating themselves on their rights and responsibilities if they become research subjects, by demanding that researchers conduct their studies responsibly, and by requiring accountability when public funds are used for research.

What is my responsibility and that of others?

A situation may arise where you suspect a fellow researcher is behaving irresponsibly. These situations are uncomfortable, but looking the other way is inappropriate. What steps can you take?

Step 1: You observe an individual behaving irresponsibly. What would you do?

In the United States, responsibility is distributed among various agencies like the U.S. Office of Research Integrity and the Office of the Inspector General. In the United Kingdom, the UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) provides expert, confidential support across all disciplines.

Reflect on the learned roles and steps—understanding your obligations ensures the best course of action when facing integrity concerns.

Useful links

Next: Embracing
© Research as a Transferable Skill — Integrity and ethical decision-making in research