Korenman (2006) goes about describing research integrity as taking personal credit for the ethical principles and standards that are vital when conducting any research study. He goes onto explaining how research integrity is a way of representing ones moral character and level of experience, along with taking accountability for personal attributes one should have.
These attributes comprise of factors such as honestly and fairness in research, Interacting with others involved in an utmost professional manner, Respect and protection of subjects taking part in the study and he goes onto mentioning a few more (Korenman, 2006).
We as final year BSc Physiotherapy students are expected to write up research proposals while upholding these types of principles. When thinking back to lecture sessions, I realise how these ethical responsibilities have been instilled as an effort to maintain and promote the concept of responsible conduct of research, which ideally means upholding integrity throughout our research.
Authors such as Steneck (2006) believe that “the public’s investment in research is not adequately protected from irresponsible practice”. This has been due to certain categories of behavior apposing integrity in research :
- Deliberate misconduct: fabrication, falsification and plagiarism
- Questionable research practices
- Responsible conduct of research
Instead of mentioning and trying do continuously define integrity of research I found Steneck (2006) literature regarding the impact of irresponsible behaviour more enlightening.
He goes onto explaining how although plagiarism is a problem and cannot be ignored, fabrication and falsification undermines reliability of results found in research studies.
There are 3 specific steps that have been described that I find valid for me, personally, as a student. The first one mentions conduct in research should be based on professional standards rather than ideals. This way we as students maintain a clear vision and guide as to what is expected of us
Second, research authorities need to ensure that professional standards for responsible research is clear. We as students should be given resources that help increase our knowledge on the subject to ensure that we deliver integrity in research.
Lastly, being provided with an environment that promotes responsible conduct and this “integrity” we are expected to possess. Constant evaluation has showed slow progression but has such potential for future research (steneck, 2006).
REFERENCES:
- Korenman, S. (2006). Research Integrity. Retrieved August 14, 2018, from Teaching the Responsible Conduct of Research in Humans (RCRH): https://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/ucla/chapter1/page02.htm
- Steneck, N. (2006). Fostering integrity in research: Definitions, current knowledge, and future directions. Science And Engineering Ethics, 12(1), 53-74. Doi:10.1007/pl00022268
2 thoughts on “Integrity in Research”
Hi Saarah
I really enjoyed your piece and found it thought provoking and well thought of. I like how these a clear link between integrity and research and our Ethics module. You have clearly shown the impact it has had on you and your content clearly relates to the topic. I like that you expressed what you have taken from the article and how it is valid to you. I found your direct writing approach refreshing.
Some points to consider:
1. Although you have clearly shown what you’ve learned from this article, I think it could have been strengthened by strengthened what you have learned from conducting your own thesis with your group.
2. With your last paragraph, I think it could have ended with a personal experience and not a reference from the journal article.
3. I would like more references as this would have shown more reliability with the article you used.
Overall, this was a good writing piece and I have learned from it. I liked the directness and although it was brief, you still managed to bring your opinion and stance across but I do feel that you could have elaborated on it.
Kind regards.
Hey Saarah!
I enjoyed your writing piece, I specifically liked that you mentioned that fabrication and falsification undermines reliability of research and not just plagiarism. In addition I am pleased to see that your in text reference is the same as listed in your reference list.
You mentioned that students should be given resources that help increase their knowledge on the subject (research integrity) in order to deliver honest research, in this case you could’ve considered giving an example or mentioned a personal experience for the reader to understand what you are trying to say. For example you could have mentioned that when we do a seen exam it is required from us as BSc physiotherapy students to do research on the respective treatment methods used on the patient we chose to do our exam on. And that doing a certain amount of repetitions is shown to be effective based on the article we used,hence our treatment will be effective due to the fact that we did research and not treat the patient based on what we think or feel.
I would like to make a suggestion for you to read Research Integrity: what it means, why it is important and how we we might protect it by Science Europe (2015), they state that research integrity is important because it creates trusts. Researchers should be able to trust each other’s work and must also be trusted by society as they provide expertise that could influence people’s lives (which is seen by the example I made earlier).
I would’ve liked for you to elaborate on the significance of research integrity and to relate it to a clinical experience rather than stating information said by other people.
I did however, enjoy the flow of your piece it was easy to follow and understand.
All the best.
Reference:
(2018). Retrieved from http://www.scienceeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Briefing_Paper_Research_Integrity_web.pdf