Practicing integrity in research means planning, proposing, performing, reporting and reviewing research in accordance to the values of honesty, accountability, objectivity, openness and fairness (Stanley G, Korenman M.D. 2006). To me it simple means that when practicing research one is required to use honest and verifiable methods with attention to the rules, regulations and guidelines of professional codes of ethics (National Institutes of Health. 2013).
During my fourth year studies four classmates and I will be formulating a research proposal throughout the course of the year. We will then be presenting this proposal at the end of the year as our final year assignment. While formulating this proposal it is important for our group to apply integrity to our research. However, for us to do that it is important to understand it.
While conducting research one has to be honest when proposing, performing and reporting research, which simply means that proposals and data should be presented honestly and communicated to the researcher’s best understanding verbally and in writing. It is important to also be accurate when representing contributions to research proposals and reports, which indicates researchers will not present work of others as if it were their own, which it considered plagiarism (Stanley G, Korenman M.D. 2006).
Furthermore, the concept of fairness in peer review should also be considered whole formulating the proposal. Researchers should agree to be peer reviewers only when they can be impartial in their judgements of the work presented. Last but certainly not least is the importance of the protection of all individuals who volunteer to participate in our research conducted. After understanding the above professional codes it can be concluded that our research group will ensure research integrity (Stanley G, Korenman M.D. 2006).
References
- Stanley G, Korenman M.D. 2006. Research Integrity. Retrieved on August 15, 2018 from http://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/ucla/chapter 1/page02.htm
- National Institutes of Health. 2013. Research Integrity. Retrieved on August 15, 2018 from http://grants.nih.gov/grants/research_integrity/whatis_htm
3 thoughts on “Integrity in Research”
Hi Abigail.
Thank for sharing your piece.
I enjoyed how simple and straight forward your writing piece was. It was easy to follow and understand which I think is very important because you do not want to lose the reader’s interest. I liked how you relate integrity of research to your own experience. This helps me formulate a better picture of what integrity of research is about.
Although, I think you can perhaps also explain more (in your opinion) about integrity of research from the articles you have found or used. This will show that you have read through the article and formulated your own opinion about it.
I also liked that your credited authors where necessary. It is always good to show respect to the authors work. Just a point that you may consider to make your writing piece more valid and credible is using more up to date references. Preferably articles that were published within the passed 10 years, as they will be using more up to date data and findings.
You can also double check your grammar and sentence structure. Some of your sentences are quite lengthy, you can shorten the long sentences by making it into 2 sentences or more.
Thank you for sharing your writing piece.
I thoroughly enjoyed your writing piece in that it was put in a way that is simple for the reader to understand and it also was straight to the point allowing for the reader’s attention to remain focused on your piece. I think it was a good idea for you to incorporate your own personal experience and relate it to integrity in research, allowing for a clearer image of your point of view and perceptions regarding the topic. You made use of in-text referencing which is excellent as you are giving credit to the various authors of the articles that you used.
A suggestion I would give you is to always read through your final piece to ensure that all the grammar and the flow of the sentences are correct. Some of your sentences became quite long and would have perhaps been more clear if split into two separate sentences. This is a simple mistake that happens to many, but just try to be more aware of it when writing other pieces in the future.
Furthermore, you presented a total of four concepts involved in integrity of research. Perhaps you can do a bit more research into the topic as it is not only limited to these four. For example I found, in addition to yours, the following: Collaboration is required for scientific interactions, resource sharing, communications; Transparency regarding conflicts of interest; Providing humane care of animals when conducting research is required; Respecting and adhering to the mutual responsibilities of mentors and trainees. It is likely that you may have not included these in your above writing piece ass they perhaps did not relate to your research proposal, but I just thought I would inform you of them, in case they apply to any research tasks that you may undertake in the future.
Overall, I enjoyed your writing piece as it was clear and concise.
Good day, Abigail.
Thank you for a short, but sweet writing piece. It was clear and concise and included all necessary aspects that is needed, i.e. introduction, what it is and clinical experience (along with relevant resources).
However, I think it would be a good idea to elaborate more on how integrity in research (or lack thereof) will not only impact the researcher, but also the participant/patient. In addition, analyze how clinical practice itself will be affected if there were little to no research integrity. I believe that this will give you more insight to the significance of the topic.
Lastly, consider your reference articles used, as some are outdated to 12 years ago. Maybe think about how this could have an impact on research integrity – using outdated references in a quick-evolving world.
Nonetheless, thank you for a good, clear and concise piece that kept me captivated!
Kind regards
Suné Cloete