Research Integrity
As one of the world's leading research universities, the Australian National University is committed to the highest standards of research integrity. ANU seeks to foster and maintain a research environment of intellectual strength, safeguarding academic freedom and acting with honesty, integrity, and scholarly and scientific rigour.
In support of this goal, the University's Responsible Conduct of Research policy details the standards of research integrity expected of all ANU researchers.
What is research integrity?
Research integrity is means that research has been conducted, communicated and disseminated in a manner that is trustworthy. It instils confidence that research has been produced in an honest, ethical and conscientious manner. In Australia the principles underpinning research integrity are encapsulated in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2018) (the Code).
According to the Code, the core principles of ethical conduct of research in Australia are:
Honesty – present information truthfully and accurately.
Rigour – exercise attention to detail and robust methodology while acknowledging biases.
Transparency – communicate research findings openly and accurately. Manage conflicts of interest.
Fairness – treat fellow researchers with respect, cite the work of others, give authorship credit where appropriate.
Respect – Treat human and animal research participants with respect and care. Minimise adverse effects on the environment.
Recognition of the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be engaged in research that affects or is of particular significance to them (see AIATSIS Code for ethical Indigenous research).
Accountability – comply with the law, policies and guidelines and consider the consequences of your research prior to communication.
Promotion of responsible research culture and environment practices
Expectations of all ANU researchers
The University requires that all ANU researchers uphold the Code's research integrity principles. It is important that all ANU researchers understand and implement research integrity practices in all aspects of their research. In addition to ANU policies supporting research integrity (listed in the side panel of this page), researchers must also read, understand and comply with the Code and the laws, regulations, guidelines, disciplinary standards and codes of practice related to the responsible conduct of research (Laws, regulations & guidelines supporting research integrity).
What if I have a concern about research integrity?
The University takes concerns about research integrity very seriously. When a researcher does not act with research integrity, they are considered to have breached the principles of the Code. The breach may be minor or significant and/or repeated.
- If your concern relates to an ANU staff member or Visiting/Honorary Appointment, you can talk to a Research Integrity Advisor (RIA) or contact the Research Integrity team for advice. You may also wish to make a formal research integrity complaint.
- If your concern relates to an ANU student, you can talk to an RIA for advice or make a formal complaint (see the Academic Integrity guidance material).
Examples of a breach of the Code
i. Not meeting required research standards
- Conducting research without ethics approval as required by the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes
- Failing to conduct research as approved by an appropriate ethics review body
- Conducting research without the requisite approvals, permits or licences
- Misuse of research funds
- Engaging in conduct that impedes the progress of research or risks corrupting research records or compromising the integrity of research practices
- Engages in conduct, or assists another person to engage in conduct, that is unethical, dishonest or unfair
Guidance & Training:
- Animal ethics overview, resources, training & support
- Human research ethics resources, training & support
- Recombinant DNA monitoring resources, training & support
- Foreign Interference and the Foreign Arrangements Scheme
- Defence Export Controls and your research
- Laws, regulations & guidelines supporting research integrity
ii. Fabrication, falsification, misrepresentation
- Fabrication of research data or source material
- Falsification of research data or source material
- Misrepresentation of research data or source material
- Falsification and/or misrepresentation to obtain funding
- Intentionally omitting data to obtain a desired result
Guidance & Training:
- ANU Managing Digital Research Data training
- ANU Research Data Management training
- ANU Research Data Management Resource
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
- Publication and Dissemination of Research (Guide supporting the Code)
- Management of Data and Information in Research (Guide supporting the Code)
- Local area standard operating practices, training & inductions
iii. Authorship, plagiarism, intellectual property
- Failure to acknowledge the contributions of others fairly, which can include submission or publication of anything that fails to correctly or appropriately acknowledge the work of another person or otherwise improperly appropriates the intellectual property or contribution of another person
- Misleading ascription of authorship including failing to offer authorship to those who qualify or awarding authorship to those who do not meet the requirements
- Plagiarism of someone else’s work, including theories, concepts, research data and source material
- Duplicate publication (also known as redundant or multiple publication, or self-plagiarism) without acknowledgment of the source
Guidance & Training:
- Authorship (Guide supporting the Code)
- ANU Authorship Procedure
- ANU Authorship Disputes Procedure
- ANU Intellectual Property Policy
- ANU Student Intellectual Policy
- Collaborative Research (Guide supporting the Code)
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
- Peer Review (Guide supporting the Code)
- Publication and Dissemination of Research (Guide supporting the Code)
iv. Research data management
- Failure to appropriately maintain research records
- Inappropriate destruction of research records, research data and/or source material
- Inappropriate disclosure of, or access to, research records, research data and/or source material
Guidance & Training:
- ANU Collection, storage & disposal of human biospecimens in research policy
- ANU Data Breach Response Plan Procedure
- ANU Data Management Plans (DMPTool)
- ANU Managing Digital Research Data training
- ANU Privacy Awareness Training (all staff & students)
- ANU Privacy Policy
- ANU Records & Archives Managed Policy
- ANU Research Data Management Resource
- ANU Research Data Management training
- ANU Records Management Procedure
- ANU Student Surveys & Evaluations Policy
- Collaborative Research (Guide supporting the Code)
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
- Management of Data & Information in Research (Guide supporting the Code)
- Publication and Dissemination of Research (Guide supporting the Code)
- Local area standard operating practices, training & inductions
v. Supervision
- Failure to provide adequate guidance or mentorship on responsible research conduct to researchers or research trainees under their supervision
Guidance & Training:
vii. Conflicts of interest
- Failure to disclose and manage conflicts of interest. Researchers must disclose to an institution all interests that are relevant, or could appear to be relevant, to proposed or ongoing research. Consider whether financial, personal, familial, professional and organisational could impact the integrity and reliability of the conduct and outcomes of the research
Guidance & Training:
- ANU Disclosure of interest policy
- Disclosure of interests & management of conflicts of interest (Guide supporting the Code)
viii. Peer review
- Failure to conduct peer review responsibly. Peer review is the impartial and independent assessment of research by others working in the same or a related field
Guidance & Training:
- Peer review (Guide supporting the Code)
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
Reference documents
- Research Integrity Poster (PDF, 1.01 MB)
- Research Integrity Advisor contacts & information (PDF, 552.21 KB)
- Laws, regulations & guidelines supporting research integrity (PDF, 562.61 KB)
- Guidance Document: Making an Allegation of Research Misconduct (PDF, 819.47 KB)
- Research Misconduct Allegation Form (DOCX, 33.97 KB)
Policies
Related links
Contact
- Research Integrity
- Send email
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