Yesterday, a group comprising of government departments, research funders, and other stakeholders in the UK released a document that states their support to promote research integrity. The "Concordat" outlines responsibilities and expectations for researchers, research employers, and funders in regards to promoting rigorous research and the handling of research misconduct.
The following commitments to research are introduced:
- maintaining the highest standards of rigour and integrity in all aspects of research
- ensuring that research is conducted according to appropriate ethical, legal and professional frameworks, obligations and standards
- supporting a research environment that is underpinned by a culture of integrity and based on good governance, best practice and support for the development of researchers
- using transparent, robust and fair processes to deal with allegations of research misconduct should they arise
- working together to strengthen the integrity of research and to reviewing progress regularly and openly
The complete document can be downloaded below;
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Publications/Documents/TheConcordatToSupportResearchIntegrity.pdf