Introducing Responsible Conduct of Research program from Epigeum
In today’s polarized political landscape, maintaining research integrity throughout the project lifecycle - from hypothesis formulation to data collection, analysis, and publication - is essential to safeguard against the distortion of findings. The newly revised programme from Epigeum offers a thorough introduction to the essential principles and responsibilities required of every researcher at each research step.
In the below post, Professor Nicholas Steneck – Lead Advisor and Author behind the Research Integrity Course – discusses his experience of updating the upcoming Responsible Conduct of Research programme to best serve the US research climate and make it as useful as possible to researchers today.
Nick is Professor Emeritus of History, University of Michigan, Research Integrity Consultant and Co-founder of the World Conferences on Research Integrity.
I have a long personal involvement in the promotion of responsible conduct in research. Forty years ago, I was asked to chair a university committee charged with making recommendations on how to avoid the isolated cases of misconduct coming to public attention. Twenty years later, while working as a consultant to the Office of Research Integrity, I authored the ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research and was provided the opportunity to co-found the World Conferences on Research Integrity.
I have experienced firsthand how the academic community has gone from thinking that a few clear policies, a code of conduct and some training is all that is required to counter misconduct in research, to recognising a clear need for better training materials that help researchers understand the importance of a personal commitment setting high standards for the responsible conduct of research.
Far from disappearing from research over the last few decades, misconduct has become commonplace. There are now a range of behaviors that don’t meet the criteria (falsification, fabrication and plagiarism) for formal investigations of misconduct but are detrimental to the research record and must be addressed. The growing number of these cases and lack of resources for promoting integrity are the main reasons research institutions turn to online training that can address three key challenges: scope, balance and focus.
Scope
When the first cases of clear violations of accepted practice in research emerged as a public issue in the 1980s, researchers were worried about the erosion of self-regulation. To retain control and limit government intervention, they used the term “research misconduct” to avoid the legal complications of “fraud” and campaigned to have the phrase “other practices that seriously deviated from the normal practice of research” dropped from the definition due to vagueness. When further research behaviors fell short of the high standards for integrity expected of all researchers, the terms “questionable” and more recently “detrimental” were introduced to cover these other departures from best practice.
When planning Epigeum’s Responsible Conduct of Research program, the first challenge was deciding what vocabulary to use and what irresponsible practices belonged in the program. In the 1990s, researchers who were opposed to the “other practices” clause used an alleged case of an improper mentor-mentee relationship to remove the clause from the formal definition of research misconduct. Since 2009 the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has required mentorship training in RCR training programs.
To meet the changing scope of the responsible conduct of research, working closely with the Epigeum staff, we have broadened the scope of the new US version to include more current topics. As new topics emerge, the scope of the course will be broadened further to assure that it is up to date.
Balance
The challenge balance presented was deciding how much ‘bad news’ to include in the program. The primary goal of this new version of the course is to encourage researchers – particularly early career researchers – to aspire to high standards for integrity. The demands placed on researchers today can make them feel that certain responsibilities, such as securing funding, making innovative discoveries and publishing, are more important than following best practices. Some researchers feel that publishers care more about profits than the integrity of the research they publish and thus turn to papermills and bogus journals to publish their work.
While it is important to remain positive, new researchers must be made aware of the problems and consequences that could arise when failing to avoid questionable and more serious misbehavior. We have, therefore, included a dedicated section in the course modules that explore a range of potential problems, from mistakes and oversight to questionable practices and misconduct, covering both FFP and other areas where formal action can be taken.
Focus
Our main approach to encouraging researchers to aspire to high standards for integrity in research has been to focus on engagement. By engagement is meant changing the focus of online training from a box-ticking exercise to content and activities that draw learners into the course and encourage them to think about the content. The infographics, case studies, poll questions, and interactive exercises found in Epigeum courses require thought and interaction rather than simply deliver content.
The course also provides clear signposts to help learners know where to consult institutional guidelines and officials whenever additional information or clarification is needed. In addition to an interactive course, Epigeum programs provide specially designed blended learning resources that encourage in-person discussion with colleagues.
Anyone who thinks Responsible Conduct of Research is simple to define and easy to teach needs to have the experience of providing advice to a young researcher balancing progress towards a degree or promotion with the responsibility to report a senior colleague for misconduct. It is never too early or late to take a careful look at what research funders and institutions mean when they say everyone should be committed to high standards for integrity in research. If some of the content in this program seems ‘basic’ for the experienced researcher, the issues and questions raised are not!
By providing a course rich in scope, balance and focus we have designed training with accessible content that will help researchers at whatever level understand why responsible conduct of research is a personal, professional and institutional responsibility that must be taken seriously.
The Responsible Conduct of Research program will publish in December 2024. To find out more about the modules, visit Epigeum course page.
Originally posted on the Epigeum blog here