Research Integrity
Flinders University is committed to maintaining a culture that promotes the responsible conduct, management and reporting of research. Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (the Code) is the prevailing guideline in this country for the responsible conduct and reporting of research, and for the handling of allegations of research misconduct. The Code was published in 2007 by the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Universities Australia. It is also a condition of funding from the ARC and NHMRC that funded institutions comply with the Code. http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/r39syn.htm University Policies All researchers must also comply with the University s research-related policies and procedures: http://www.flinders.edu.au/ppmanual/research/
Principles and Practices of Responsible Research 1. Safety Flinders University provides appropriate induction, training and mentoring of researchers, and mandates practices that create a safe working environment for the conduct of research, underpinned by the University s Work, Health and Safety policies and procedures, in addition to relevant legislation. Researchers working with gene technology, genetically-modified organisms and in relevant areas of microbiological research, must seek approval from the University s Institutional Biosafety Committee, and only commence their studies after final approval has been received. 2. Ethics Respect for participants is fundamental to research undertaken at Flinders University. This applies to human participants, and to animals used in research. Researchers must comply with relevant legislation, and with current editions of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, and the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes. For research involving human participants or animals, researchers must seek approval from relevant ethics committees, and only commence their research after final approval has been received. Primary committees in this regard are the University s Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee, the Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee, and the University s Animal Welfare Committee. 3. Management of Research Data and Primary Materials Researchers must adhere to the principles and guidance provided in the Code and the University s research-related policies, including the legislation and guidelines identified therein, with regard to research data ownership, management, storage, retention, access and disposal. (Guidelines are being developed) 4. Supervision of Research Trainees The University provides appropriate supervision, mentoring and training of research trainees in order to maintain a research culture that demonstrates excellence, integrity, professionalism, respect and recognition. All research higher degree students and their supervisors must be familiar with the information provided in the Code and the University s Research Higher Degrees Policy, and can seek further guidance from the University s Office of Graduate Research. 5. Publication and Authorship Flinders University acknowledges the importance of communicating research findings to peers, professional organisations, stakeholders, research participants and the wider community. The rights and responsibilities of researchers relating to the publication, dissemination and authorship of research outputs is detailed in the University s research-related policies.
6. Peer Review Peer review which is encouraged in order to provide expert scrutiny, has a number of important roles in research and research management, in the assessment of grant applications, in selecting material for publication, in the review of the performance of researchers and teams, and in the selection of staff. With regard to peer review, researchers should be guided by the University s research-related policies. 7. Conflicts of Interest A conflict of interest exists where there is a divergence between the individual interests of a person and their professional responsibilities, such that an independent observer might reasonably conclude that the professional actions of that person are unduly influenced by their own interests. Conflicts of interest in research include those relating to personal, professional and financial advantages. Researchers should seek guidance from the University s Conflict of Interest Policy. 8. Collaborative Research Across Institutions Collaboration between researchers, organisations and across borders creates particular issues in relation to authorship, intellectual property, conflicts of interest and commercialisation. The University requires written agreements to be executed for collaborative research projects across institutions, mediated by Research Development and Support, and researchers must comply with the written agreements pertaining to their research.
Research Misconduct Breaches of the Code occur when researchers deviate from the principles and practices of responsible research conduct and reporting. Research misconduct is the term used for serious breaches that involve deliberate deviations, such as: plagiarism, data fabrication or data manipulation; failure to declare or manage a serious conflict of interest; avoidable failure to follow research proposals as approved by a research ethics committee, particularly where this failure may result in unreasonable risk or harm to humans, animals or the environment; and/or the willful concealment or facilitation of research misconduct by others. The University s framework for reporting and investigating an allegation that research has not been conducted responsibly is described in the University s research-related policies and the current Enterprise Agreement. Researcher Support Research Development and Support provides advice and support for researchers in the areas of cross-institutional collaboration, research integrity, research misconduct, human research ethics, animal ethics and biosafety. Contact details are available here: http://www.flinders.edu.au/research/researcher-support/rds/rds-who.cfm
Contacts and Further Information If you have any queries regarding Research Integrity and Misconduct at Flinders, Please contact the Director, Research Development and Support, Ms Jodieann Dawe (jodieann. dawe@flinders.edu.au). Further information can be found on the Research Integrity and Misconduct website at http://flinders.edu.au/research/researchersupport/ebi/integrity-misconduct/ CRICOS No: 00114A