Even though I am in my final year and we do research as a subject I don’t really understand what it means to have integrity while conducting research. I came across an article written by Korenman (2006) which defines integrity in research as the constant adherence to the ethical principles as well as the professional standards.

According to Steneck (2007) research integrity should include:

• Methods that are honest in evaluation, proposing and performing research.
• When reporting research results there was be particular attention to the adherence of guidelines, rules and regulations.
• The research should also follow all the accepted professional codes.

Research integrity involves commitment to honesty and personal responsibility for one’s action. There is also a range of practices that characterize integrity in research (Korenman, 2006).

According to Korenman (2006), these practices should include the following:

• Honesty and fairness when proposing, performing as well as reporting research.Researches must not falsify any information to the individuals participating in the research programme as well as to those reading the research project.

• Peer reviews must be fair and proficient. When marking members on contribution it is important that each member is fairly acknowledge for their contribution.
• Conflicts of interest must be disclosed.If any problems arise during the research project these must be brought up and handled correctly and fairly.
• The identity of humans in the conduct of research must be protected.The identity of all individuals’ participating must not be disclosed due to the individual’s right to privacy.
• When conducting research there must be human care for animals.If your research project involves animals it is vital that these animals are treated with respect and dignity.
• Adherence to the responsibilities of others.During your research assignment you must always follow rules and respect the feedback from mentors and supervisors.

Plagiarism has a large effect on integrity in research due to it being poorly discussed within the academic setting (Carnero & Konda, 2017.) In Peru a study was done by Carnero and Konda (2017), among an Epidemiology programme where there was minimal implementation of research integrity. There were 5 students whose thesis had been plagiarised and they were each educated on research integrity. Following their education not one of the learners engaged in further plagiarism due to their added knowledge on research integrity.

Therefore I believe that it is important that we as learners are all taught and understand the full meaning of research integrity. So many times we do not even realise when we are plagiarising or even when we are showing a lack of integrity while completing our research assignments.

References:

Carnero, A and Konda, K. (2017). Plagiarism, Cheating and Research Integrity: Case Studies from a Masters Program in Peru. Science, English and Ethics. 23 (4), p1183-1197.

Korenman, S. (2006). The ethical basis for research in humans..Available: https://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/ucla/chapter1/page02.htm. Last accessed 17 August 2018.

Steneck, H. (2007). Research Integrity. Available: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/research_integrity/whatis.htm. Last accessed 17 August 2018.