Research Ethics & Integrity

The College is committed to ensuring that research ethics, integrity and governance are firmly embedded in our ethos and culture.

Definitions of research ethics often refer to ethical values and moral principles that govern how research should be carried out. Research ethics is an important element of responsible research conduct, and a core element of research integrity. The University of Edinburgh is committed to supporting the highest standards of research ethics in all aspects of its research and has a Research Ethics Policy.

The policy defines research ethics as involving the application of ethical principles to research activities. These ethical principles are applied throughout the lifetime of a research project: from conception and design, via data collection and analysis, to dissemination, archiving of research materials, and beyond. Researchers have a responsibility to undertake their research with due diligence of all relevant ethical considerations. Research integrity refers to all of the factors and behaviours of researchers that underpin good research practice and promote trust and confidence in the research process. Research integrity applies across all disciplines of research and all sectors where research is carried out and it covers​ the whole research lifecycle. It also covers making sure that environments and systems for research safeguard and enhance good research practice, rather than hinder it – often described as ‘research culture‘. Here is a graphical representation of research integrity based on the core areas described in The Concordat to Support Research Integrity (2019), created by UKRIO:

 

UKRIO Research Integrity graph
Image credit: UKRIO 2024 https://ukrio.org/wp-content/uploads/WhatisRI.png

Research Integrity at the University of Edinburgh 

The College, as well as the University as a whole, has adopted the UK Research Integrity Office’s Code of Practice for Research and the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, published by Universities UK. 

The Concordat to Support Research Integrity is committed to: 

  • 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 UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) provides expert advice and guidance about the conduct of research. The Code of Practice for Research was published in 2023 and can be accessed using the link below:

Research Integrity at the College

The College undertakes a wide range of research and consultancy work. All research and consultancy carried out by staff and students should be performed in accordance with the College of Science & Engineering's Research Ethics framework. The CSE framework lays out a set of guidelines that govern Research Ethics and Integrity in its seven Schools and EPCC (Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre), including Ethics Review procedures, reporting and investigating Research Misconduct, and training in Ethics and Integrity.

The seven Schools and EPCC are responsible for implementing those guidelines at a local level. Each School/centre takes responsibility for ethical review and approval of all research internally, while the College Office is required to ensure that procedures exist in each School/centre. School/centres are responsible for reviewing research proposals for ethical implications, triaging allegations of research misconduct in the first instance, and fostering a culture of integrity. EPCC has its own ethics process, and only processes approvals through Informatics / Physics when that is the lead school for an interschool project. Follow the links below to each of the Schools for more information on those procedures.

Contact us

In 2024 the College appointed Professor Jane Hillston as Dean for Research Culture and REF. Prof Hillston is responsible for Research Culture across the College and provides input to university research ethics policy and processes. If you have any questions or concerns about research ethics, integrity or misconduct within the College, please contact the Dean (CSE.CRO@ed.ac.uk).

This article was published on 13 Aug, 2024

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