It is important that City has in place safeguards to protect the quality of research carried out by its staff and students from initial conception through to publication and other forms of dissemination into society and that the highest professional standards are maintained throughout.
About good research practice
Following City’s review of the institutional value of research and knowledge transfer undertaken during 2008/09, an all-inclusive definition of research has been introduced which covers basic and applied research, policy and practice-focused research, knowledge and technology transfer, entrepreneurship and consultancy. References to research in this Framework should be considered as embracing all these activities as appropriate.
Research Councils and other funding bodies will take seriously any instances of misconduct. It is a standard expectation of funders that universities will have in place an explicit policy for preventing, and where necessary taking action upon, any misconduct.
City will apply its procedures to any allegation whether or not the research has been funded by an external source, and will also comply with any reporting requirements of funding bodies where serious misconduct is found to have occurred, following due investigation, in the course of externally-funded research.
This document is a broad framework providing general guidance on good practice in research. It draws upon a number of externally-produced documents relating to integrity in research practice, in particular the Research Councils UK Policy and Code of Conduct on the Governance of Good Research Conduct, and the UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) Code of Practice for Research.
Some elements of this framework document are taken directly from these Codes. The UKRIO Code also includes a useful checklist of key points of good practice in research to consider in relation to research in any subject area. Links to these and other relevant documents and policies can be found on the main research integrity page.
City recognises that its staff and students are engaged in a diverse range of research activities and that additional guidance will be required for specific areas (e.g. clinically-based research). Staff and students should also ensure that they take full account of any professional and regulatory guidelines relevant to their specific discipline to complement this generic framework.
The Framework for Good Practice in Research is designed to be consistent with other institutional policies and procedures and City’s Statutes and is published on City’s website.
Aims of the Framework
The aims of City’s Framework for Good Practice in Research are:
- To establish and promote a code of good practice in the conduct of all aspects of research whether this be funded, non-funded, team- or project-based or individually led
- To encourage members of City to maintain the highest achievable standards in their research conduct
- To ensure that the quality of research conducted by members of City is safeguarded and to document the procedure for investigating allegations of misconduct.
The document is aimed at the following:
a) All staff of City who are involved in research conduct. This includes:
- Staff directly involved in carrying out research
- Deans of Schools, Associate Deans for Research, Senior Tutors for Research and Heads of Faculties/Department/Centres (or equivalent) who have responsibility for overseeing staff and student research activity within their areas
- Staff responsible for supporting research activity
- School and Department research committees and institutional level committees responsible for overseeing staff and student research activity
- Staff responsible for overseeing the research conduct of students (see below).
All members of City, and staff in particular, are expected to ensure that they, and others for whom they have responsibility, understand and adhere to the highest possible standards of research practice that could reasonably be expected of them.
b) All students registered with City who are involved in research conduct. This includes:
- Research (e.g. practical research, projects, dissertations, theses) carried out by students studying at all levels on City courses
- Contributions to other research activity carried out under the name of City (e.g. contributions to staff research activity, contributions to joint projects with other institutions or organisations).
City considers it essential for its students to have an understanding and appreciation of good research practice. It is also important that students are aware explicitly of what constitutes.
Download the full framework document (.docx, 286KB)