What do we mean by good practice research?

Alison Leahy

Research Governance

Overview of presentation

1. What are the principles that underpin responsible research?

2. What are the key issues that you need to pay attention to?

What is good practice research?

• Respect the rights of those affected by research (human and

animal)

• Acknowledge the work of others

• Cite publications accurately

• Disseminate and communicate findings responsibly

What is good practice research?

• Manage conflicts of interest

• Appropriate research methods

• Safe research environment

• Good stewardship of public resources

• Report misconduct

Why is this important?

• RMIT’s reputation

• Publicly funded activity

• Legislation and grant conditions

• So that you can publish your research

• Doing the right thing…..

Do I need ethics approval?

All research at RMIT that involves human or animals as participants in the research requires ethical review and approval.

Ethics approval is a condition of candidature confirmation.

Supervisors are responsible for the actions of the students under their supervision.

Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC)

• More than ‘low risk’

College Human Ethics Advisory Network (CHEAN)

• ‘Low’ or ‘negligible risk’

Animal Ethics Committee (AEC)

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

For all the info and application forms see the Research Integrity and Governance pages of the RMIT website

Online modules

Self directed

professional development

training:

Research Integrity – how to carry out responsible research

Human Research Ethics – how to apply for ethics approval

Intellectual Property & Research Contracts – how to manage your IP and obtain permissions, copyright etc

Find out more and access the modules here

What research data should I keep?

Keep enough materials and data to justify the outcomes and to defend

challenges.

• RMIT provides safe and secure storage for research materials and

data.

• Visit the research data section of the website

What should I expect from my supervisor?

Supervisor:

• Oversight of the validity of research outcomes

• Appropriate recognition

Research trainee:

• Complete the relevant training

• More information…

How should I publish my research?

Disseminate a full account, including negative findings

Don’t submit the same research findings multiple times

Respect intellectual property (obtain relevant permissions, copyright)

Cite the work of others (referencing)

Disclose research support (funding)

More information…

Who should be an author?

• Authorship criteria

• Agree on authorship

• Include all authors

• No unacceptable inclusions

• Acknowledge contributions

• More information…

Do I have a conflict of interest?

Could someone think that your own interests are

influencing your research?

• Perception versus reality

• Declare and disclose

• Withdraw or manage

• More information…

Advice & MisconductRMIT University has a network of Research Integrity Advisors:

• Prof Emilio Badoer (Medical Sciences)

• Prof Irene Yarovsky (Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering)

• Prof Arnan Mitchell (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

• Assoc Prof Quentin Stevens (Architecture and Design)

• Dr Olga Troynikov (Fashion and Textiles)

• Dr Nicole Pepperell (GUSS)

• Dr Vanessa Cooper (Business)

• Dr Angela Dobele (Economics, Finance and Marketing)

• Dr Bernard Mees (Management)

Research Misconduct Procedure

Where to find us: www.rmit.edu.au/staff/research/integrity-and-governance