EnTIRE: Mapping Normative Frameworks for EThics and Integrity of REsearch

Background: The areas of Research Ethics and Research Integrity (RE+RI) are rapidly evolving. In the EU and internationally, new legislation, codes of conduct and good practices are constantly being developed. New technologies (e.g. gene editing), complex statistical methods (e.g. biostatistics), pressure to publish and obtain grants, and growing emphasis on stakeholder driven science (e.g. public-private partnerships) increase the complexity of conducting science. In this complex and dynamic environment, researchers cannot easily identify the correct rules and best tools for responsible conduct of research. This also increasingly constitutes a challenge for RE+RI experts. Aim: Our aim is to create a platform that makes the normative framework governing RE+RI easily accessible, supports application in research and evaluation, and involves all stakeholders in a participatory way, thus achieving sustainability. The platform will foster uptake of ethical standards and responsible conduct of research, and ultimately support research excellence and strengthen society’s confidence in research and its findings. Vision: Our vision is that in order to make the normative framework governing RE+RI accessible, a dynamic online Wiki-platform, owned by the community of RE+RI stakeholders, is needed. The value of this platform will lie in the availability of practical information on how to comply with EU, national and discipline-specific RE+RI standards and legislation, including information on rules and procedures, educational materials, and illustrative cases and scenarios. Adopting open science (open source and open data) approaches, the platform will be easy to use, by applying novel techniques for data collection and comparison, enabling users to navigate quickly and intuitively to appropriate content. In order to keep the platform up-to-date and sustainable, it will be based upon active involvement of the RE+RI community, and will contribute to further development of this community by providing a podium for reflection and dialogue on RE+RI norms and practices. Objectives: EnTIRE’s work packages (WP) will: undertake an in-depth stakeholder consultation across EU countries exploring RE+RI experiences and practices in order to define the boundaries of data to be collected, and developing a mapping structure adapted to user needs (WP 2); assemble the relevant normative elements, including RE+RI rules and procedures, educational materials, and illustrative casuistry, and identify relevant institutions across EU countries (WP 3-5); develop a user-friendly Wiki-platform and online resources to foster and facilitate responsible research practices and to promote compliance amongst European researchers with RE+RI standards and pertinent legislation and regulations (WP 6); and foster further development of the RE+RI community, that will support the platform and be supported by it, will keep the information up-to-date, disseminate the project’s findings and develop innovative strategies for maintaining the platform and building relationships to relevant organisations for further dissemination, including sustainable funding (WP 7). Relevance to the work programme: The proposed project responds directly to the core requirement of call SwafS-16-2016 to ‘provide a dynamic mapping of the RE+RI normative framework which applies to scientific research conducted in the EU and beyond’. Our proposal does this by using a participatory approach, stimulating knowledge transfer regarding codes and regulations, resources and institutions, and cases, by applying innovative ICT solutions and open science approaches, and by further developing a community of active users, to enable sustainability after the end of the project.

A Course for Teaching and Learning About the Responsible Conduct of Research

Over the past 30 years, the scientific community has been increasingly challenged to provide the next generation of researchers with training in responsible conduct of research (RCR). Although RCR courses, workshops, and seminars are now routinely taught internationally, there is little uniformity in goals, content, pedagogy, duration, class size, or methods of assessment. The result is a mixed picture of effectiveness. In this manuscript, we describe goals, rationales, and features for a course tested and revised through well over 100 iterations. Based on our experience and that of others with whom we have shared this model, we propose this course as one that RCR instructors might readily and successfully adopt or adapt.

Philosophy of Scientific Malpractice

This paper presents current work in philosophy of science in practice that focusses on practices that are detrimental to the production of scientific knowledge. The paper argues that philosophy of scientific malpractice both provides an epistemological complement to research ethics in understanding scientific misconduct and questionable research practices, and provides a new approach to how training in responsible conduct of research can be implemented.

Scientists under the societal microscope: challenges to research integrity

COVID-19 promises to reshape every aspect of society, not excluding how science is perceived. However, it is not clear whether the authority of science and scientists will be enhanced or diminished, or whether such changes will affect mainly science as an endeavour or scientists as individuals. The aim of this paper is to analyze how a pandemic like COVID-19 could undermined the confidence in science and scientist and, to underline now, more than ever, the importance of trust in science and in scientists. Two main issues will be analyzed: first, we will analyze how putting science and scientists in the spotlight could impact science and scientists and, secondly, we will go through the history of COVID treatment and research to anticipate how misconduct and breaches on responsible conduct in research could undermine trust in science with serious risks and consequences.

Translating Researchers’ Experiences into Training on Research Integrity at Universities of Applied Sciences (TETRIAS)

"In the Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences (UASs) applied research is gaining an increasingly important place in their activities, not only as a means to improve teaching but as a means to develop innovations and professionalism as well. The establishment of a clear framework of research integrity is an important condition to foster the research environment. Up to now, in the UASs there is no specific training for researchers that helps researchers to develop the necessary competencies. This project seeks to address this issue by developing a training program on ‘Responsible Conduct of Research’. To identify what topics should be covered twelve researchers from six different UASs and seven different domains were interviewed (Economics, Arts and Culture, Pedagogy, Technology, Healthcare, Business Administration, and Bioinformatics). Their input resulted in a picture of the state of the art in integrity issues that the interviewees considered as important. Based on an explorative qualitative data analysis and the project team’s expertise tailored learning objectives and appropriate learning methods were formulated. The training program will likely be offered through the Association of UASs (Vereniging van Hogescholen) to all UASs in our country. "

A phenomenographic study of scientists’ beliefs about the causes of scientists’ research misconduct

When scientists act unethically, their actions can cause harm to participants, undermine knowledge creation, and discredit the scientific community. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is one of the main ways institutions try to prevent scientists from acting unethically. However, this only addresses the problem if scientists value the training, and if the problem stems from ignorance. This study looks at what scientists think causes unethical behavior in science, with the hopes of improving RCR training by shaping it based on the views of the targeted audience ( n = 14 scientists). Previous studies have surveyed scientists about what they believe causes unethical behavior using pre-defined response items. This study uses a qualitative research methodology to elicit scientists’ beliefs without predefining the range of responses. The data for this phenomenographic study were collected from interviews which presented ethical case studies and asked subjects how they would respond to those situations. Categories and subcategories were created to organize their reasonings. This work will inform the development of future methods for preventing unethical behavior in research.

Integrating Virtue Ethics into Responsible-Conduct-of-Research Programs: Challenges and Opportunities

In response to federal regulations, institutions created a multitude of responsible-conduct-of-research (RCR) education programs to teach novice researchers about ethical issues that may arise in the course of their research and how to avoid or address them. Many RCR education programs strive to help familiarize trainees with some of the areas in which issues in research ethics and integrity develop and help shape trainees into researchers who conduct their work with integrity. However, the compliance aspect of RCR education programs presents fundamental challenges to the programs’ aspirational goals. Adopting a virtue ethics framework can contribute to RCR education programs’ pursuit of those goals by drawing attention to the ways in which researchers’ characters contribute to conducting research with integrity. Further, virtue ethics can contribute to the development of a virtuous researcher through incorporation into both the formal RCR curriculum and through more informal means, such as mentoring.

Competition, Choice, and Change

Initiatives to promote information about business human rights impacts on the part of civil society activists demonstrate a shifting consciousness and increasing concern that could introduce moral considerations into capital and consumer markets at a scale sufficient to create an incentive for corporate actors to consider the risks particular business practices may present for human rights. This chapter considers how enforcement of corporate commitments to respect human rights could occur through the provision of actionable information on corporate performance to conscious constituencies of investors and consumers. It considers competitive pressures that could be brought to bear on particular industries by virtue of greater transparency, including the connected nature of communication enjoyed by a significant segment of consumers. A connected and concerned community of consumers and investors could leverage concerns into change. It contemplates ways to generate adverse market consequences for business activities that have adverse human rights consequences. Specifically, it considers the changes generated by shareholder activism on human rights issues and the advances achieved by a “worker driven, consumer powered and market enforced” fair food program. It also considers examples of corporations that have reaped rewards for responsible conduct consistent with the responsibility to respect human rights. This chapter argues that expectations on business with respect to avoiding adverse human rights impacts and complicity in abuses are increasing and that choices will reflect concerns aligned with rewarding responsible business conduct.