Policies on research misconduct ‘essential’ for universities

Universities and research institutions must have policies on handling suspected research misconduct in place to win public trust and be more transparent, the chief executive of the UK Research Integrity Office has said.

UKRIO chief executive James Parry told delegates at a Westminster Higher Education Forum event in London on 11 October that funders and the public expect “essential” policies to be in place at research institutions and universities to deal with research misconduct.

“I think you need to have these policies, they are essential. They need to be objective, they need to lead to investigations which are objective, thorough, and also as transparent as possible. We’re talking about issues of staff or student conduct, so there’s going to be necessary confidentially, especially if there are research participants involved. But I think institutions should look at what they have been doing in this regard and how they can be more open,” said Parry.