{"id":8199,"date":"2021-03-02T16:51:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T16:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/?p=8199"},"modified":"2021-03-02T16:51:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T16:51:49","slug":"research-integrity-putting-principles-into-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/2021\/03\/02\/research-integrity-putting-principles-into-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Research integrity: putting principles into practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Misconduct in medical research has the potential to mislead the scientific community which, in the worst cases, can have major repercussions on patients. Such misconduct can include fabrication, falsification, plagiarism and the emerging trend for \u2018post-production misconduct<\/a>\u2019. In addition to these examples of scientific fraud, a lack of transparency, reproducibility and replicability<\/a> in medical publications may also affect research integrity.<\/p>\n

While there have been several key declarations on the principles of research integrity (such as European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity<\/a>) occasional high-profile cases of misconduct still occur. The reasons behind misconduct in medical research have been well documented. As outlined in an editorial<\/a> by Prof Lee Harvey, it is a long-term problem associated with the immense pressure that researchers are under to publish articles that attract funding, which has led to the so called \u2018publish or perish\u2019 mentality. This research environment has been compounded by the traditional citation-based metrics that have long been adopted by the scientific community.<\/p>\n

In order to combat misconduct, attention is now turning towards how organisations can translate the principles of research integrity into practice. As highlighted in an editorial<\/a> by Prof Niels Mejlgaard and colleagues, the EU\u2019s next research funding programme<\/a> will confirm a strong commitment to research integrity. The authors note:<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is expected that institutions receiving funding from the \u20ac81-billion (US$96-billion) programme will be required to have clear plans and procedures in place for research integrity<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To evaluate which topics should be addressed by organisations in their plans to promote research integrity, Mejlgaard et al conducted a study called Standard Operating Procedures for Research Integrity (SOPs4RI). They identified nine key areas that should be considered:<\/p>\n