What are the best practices? (Has Best Practice)
From The Embassy of Good Science
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There have been some cases of successful study replication. One of the most known cases is deciphering the Rosetta Stone. The Stone which was discovered during the Napoleonic Egyptian Campaign in 1799 contains texts both in Ancient Egyptian (hieroglyphic and Demotic script) and in Ancient Greek. By comparing the Demotic, hieroglyphic and ancient Greek texts, British scholar Thomas Young and French scholar Jean-François Champollion managed to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphic.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000023F-QINU`"' Numerous scholars have studied the stone later and the main results have been replicated multiple times.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000240-QINU`"' '"`UNIQ--ref-00000241-QINU`"'
Although there is no consensus in the research community, some research organisations, academic journals and platforms have been encouraging replication in the humanities. One of them is the [https://www.nwo.nl/en/about-nwo Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research] (NWO). The NWO recognizes that while not all humanities research is suitable for replication, this practice is possible in the empirical humanities and this is what it aims to “encourage and facilitate”.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000242-QINU`"'
Cambridge University based journal [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-teaching Language Teaching] is also fostering original research articles which replicate previous experimental studies in the field of language learning and teaching.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000243-QINU`"' It emphasizes that replication studies can improve the way we interpret empirical research because they provide a second opinion regarding the hypotheses, methods and results of the original paper.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000244-QINU`"'
Publishing platform [https://opencontext.org/ Open context], founded by archaeologists, also supports and encourages replication in the humanities.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000245-QINU`"'
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The aim of all eight scenarios is to allow researchers, research ethics committees ('RECs'), research integrity offices ('RIOs') and research administrators to focus their reflection on core principles and research contexts that enshrine good research practice as well as their local rules and practices. +
Good scientific practices (general)
- Good practices in grant applications
- Ethics in research involving animals +
The aim of all eight scenarios is to allow researchers, research ethics committees ('RECs'), research integrity offices ('RIOs') and research administrators to focus their reflection on core principles and research contexts that enshrine good research practice as well as their local rules and practices. +
The Concordat to Support Research Integrity lists eight aspects which are important for a good research environment to promote best practices and research integrity.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000103-QINU`"' They state a good research culture should include, as a minimum, the following: <br>
*Have clear policies, practices and procedures to support researchers
*Have research ethics and integrity training, including mentoring opportunities
*Have robust management systems ensuring implementation of policies related to research, its integrity and researchers behaviour
*Create awareness among the standards of behaviour of researchers
*Ensure a system is in place that can identify concerns at an early stage
*Provide support mechanisms for those that need assistance
*Have policies in place ensuring no stigma is attached to those that find they need assistance from their emplyees
*Communicate and implement processes to raise concerns about research integrity
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On an individual level, the most important research metrics are the H-index and the i-10 index. The H-index, also known as Hirsch index, is an author level metric that shows how many articles have been cited a certain number of times. For example, a h-index of 10 shows that the author has 10 articles, each cited at least 10 times.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000203-QINU`"' The i-10 index shows the number of articles an author has published with at least 10 citations.
On a journal level, the impact factor shows an average number of citations per article in two consecutive years.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000204-QINU`"' Other famous journal metric systems are Eigenfactor and the SCImago Journal Rankings.
It is important to note that every metric system has its flaws. As a result, they should not be the only criterion when determining the quality and performance of a particular researcher, article, journal or research project.
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Various practices are related to research misconduct, ranging from building an environment conducive to good research conduct to the policies and procedures for reporting misconduct. Below, some initiatives to improve the reporting of misconduct are detailed.
The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity focuses on the adherence to Integrity and Fairness in misconduct procedures. Find the code [https://www.embassy.science/resources/the-european-code-of-conduct-for-research-integrity here.]
The Committee on Publishing Ethics (COPE) outline the responsibilities of journal editors and publishers in their ‘core practices’ [https://publicationethics.org/resources/elearning/introduction-publication-ethics/publication-ethics-and-misconduct here]. Recommendations include:
*"Journals must take seriously allegations of misconduct pre-publication and post-publication"
*"Journals should have a clearly described process for handling allegations, however they are brought to the journal's or publisher's attention"
*"COPE expects members to have robust and well-described, publicly documented practices in all these areas for their journals and organisations" +
- Following the OeAWI guidelines on Good Scientific Practice
- Scientific record-keeping +
The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (ECoC RI) defines a good practice in mentorship:'"`UNIQ--ref-0000004C-QINU`"'
“Senior researchers, research leaders and supervisors mentor their team members and offer specific guidance and training to properly develop, design and structure their research activity and to foster a culture of research integrity.” The ECoC RI also defines the misuse of seniority to encourage violations of research integrity as an unacceptable practice.
The Office for Research Integrity of the US Department of Health and Human Services defines the expectations of trainees and mentors in the research process.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000004D-QINU`"'
“Trainees need to know:
· how much time they will be expected to spend on their mentor’s research;
· the criteria that will be used for judging performance and form the basis of letters of recommendation;
· how responsibilities are shared or divided in the research setting;
· standard operating procedures, such as the way data are recorded and interpreted; and, most importantly,
· how credit is assigned, that is, how authorship and ownership are established.
Mentors need to know that a trainee will:
· do assigned work in a conscientious way,
· respect the authority of others working in the research setting,
· follow research regulations and research protocols, and
· live by agreements established for authorship and ownership.”
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Good scientific practice involves researchers providing explicit information on the origin of their test material in a way that is clear to readers of the paper.
All authors of a scientific article have responsibility for its overall content, including reading the final manuscript carefully before submitting it to a journal. +
Reviewing, Evaluating, Editing and Research Integrity: An Educational Scenario by the EnTIRE project +
The aim of all eight scenarios is to allow researchers, research ethics committees ('RECs'), research integrity offices ('RIOs') and research administrators to focus their reflection on core principles and research contexts that enshrine good research practice as well as their local rules and practices. +
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SOPs4RI - Guidelines for research institutions on community building for a positive research culture +
Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guidelines should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as tools that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs. +
Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possi- ble that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guideline should not be seen as a ‘one- size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs. +
Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guidelines should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs.
Furthermore, several best practices are highlighted in the guidelines itself. +
Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guidelines should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs.
Furthermore, several best practices are highlighted in the guidelines itself. +
SOPs4RI Guidelines for research institutions on Responsible Supervision and Leadership - Supervision requirements & guidelines +
Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guidelines should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs.
Furthermore, several best practices are highlighted in the guidelines itself. +
Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guidelines should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs. +
SOPs4RI Guidelines for research institutions on the research integrity education of bachelor, master and PhD students +
Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guidelines should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs. +
SOPs4RI Guidelines for research institutions on the research integrity education of institutional research integrity stakeholders +
Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guidelines should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs. +
