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UK universities compliance with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity: findings from cross-sectional time-series

BACKGROUND: The Concordat to Support Research Integrity published in 2012 recommends that UK research institutions should provide a named point of contact to receive concerns about research integrity (RI). The Concordat also requires institutions to publish annual RI statements. OBJECTIVE: To see wh...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Wager, Elizabeth
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: PeerJ Inc. 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6640619/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31341741
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7292
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: The Concordat to Support Research Integrity published in 2012 recommends that UK research institutions should provide a named point of contact to receive concerns about research integrity (RI). The Concordat also requires institutions to publish annual RI statements. OBJECTIVE: To see whether contact information for a staff member responsible for RI was readily available from UK university websites and to see how many universities published annual RI statements. METHODS: UK university websites were searched in mid-2012, mid-2014 and mid-2018. The availability of contact details for RI inquiries, other information about RI and, specifically, an annual RI statement, was recorded. RESULTS: The proportion of UK universities publishing an email address for RI inquiries rose from 23% in 2012 (31/134) to 55% in 2018. The same proportion (55%) published at least one annual RI statement in 2018, but only three provided statements for all years from 2012/13. There was great variation in the titles used for the staff member with responsibility for RI which made searching difficult. CONCLUSION: Over 6 years after the publication of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, nearly half of UK universities are not complying with all its recommendations and do not provide contact details for a staff member with responsibility for RI or an annual statement.