What is this about? (Is About)
From The Embassy of Good Science
A short summary providing some details about the theme/resource (max. 75 words)
- ⧼SA Foundation Data Type⧽: Text
U
The document 'UK Research and Innovation policy and guidelines on governance of good research conduct', developed in 2024 in UK, is a national guideline that addresses the principles of research integrity. Authored by UK Research and Innovation, and available in English, it targets the research community in UK and UK-funded research. It provides clear expectations for responsible conduct in research and defines practices that safeguard honesty, transparency, and accountability. The text outlines responsibilities of both individual researchers and institutions. It identifies misconduct such as plagiarism, data falsification, fabrication, and unethical authorship, while also promoting good practices in publication, peer review, and collaborative research. It emphasizes effective data management, openness in reporting, and respect for colleagues, participants, and the wider community. Institutions are encouraged to create supportive environments through policies, training, and oversight mechanisms. The document serves as an official reference for aligning national research standards with international expectations, reinforcing ethical norms across research fields. +
UK Research and Innovation policy and guidelines on governance of good research conduct (2024), UK Research and Innovation +
The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Policy and Guidelines on Governance of Good Research Conduct (2024) is a national framework that defines principles and standards for research integrity in the UK and UK-funded research while aligning with international norms. It is founded on core values of honesty, accountability, professional courtesy, and stewardship of resources, linking these to reproducibility, credibility, and public trust. The guidelines outline responsibilities for researchers, supervisors, institutions, funders, and journals, covering all stages of research from planning and conducting to publishing and reviewing. Key provisions include authorship criteria, proper citation, conflict-of-interest management, transparency of methods and data, responsible supervision, and fair peer review. The framework establishes procedures to handle misconduct, ensuring due process, proportional sanctions, and learning opportunities. Education and training are emphasised to embed integrity as a core skill, along with guidance on emerging issues such as open science, data management, digital tools, and new dissemination practices. Equity, diversity, and inclusivity are highlighted as essential components. By offering practical tools such as checklists and reporting templates, the UKRI policy serves as both a benchmark for policymakers and a hands-on guide for researchers and institutions, promoting transparency, reproducibility, and ethical research across the UK. +
UK Research and Innovation’s open access policy covers peer‑reviewed research articles and long‑form outputs (monographs, book chapters and edited collections) acknowledging UKRI funding. The policy mandates immediate open access for articles under permitted licences (typically CC BY) via compliant journals or repositories, and sets staged requirements and funding routes for long‑form publications. Supplementary guidance and FAQs clarify third‑party copyright, exceptions, and routes for compliance, while engagement materials explain implementation timelines and support for research organisations. The policy’s goal is to ensure that publicly funded research can be freely accessed, used and built upon, with clear signposting to acknowledge funding and manage rights. +
The UKRIO Code of Practice for Research (2023), authored by the UK Research Integrity Office, is a national framework that sets out principles and standards for research integrity in the UK while aligning with international norms. It is built on core values of honesty, accountability, professional courtesy, and stewardship, linking these to reproducibility, credibility, and public trust in research. The Code defines responsibilities for researchers, supervisors, institutions, funders, and journals, covering all stages of the research cycle from planning and conducting to publishing and reviewing. It outlines provisions for clear authorship, proper acknowledgement, conflict-of-interest management, transparency of methods and data, fair peer review, and responsible supervision. It also establishes mechanisms to address misconduct through due process, proportional sanctions, and opportunities for learning. Education and training are emphasized to ensure integrity is embedded as a skill, alongside guidance on emerging issues such as open science, digital tools, and data management. Equity, diversity, and inclusivity are presented as cross-cutting themes essential for responsible research environments. By offering practical tools such as checklists and reporting templates, the Code functions both as a policy benchmark and as a day-to-day handbook, supporting researchers and institutions in safeguarding research quality across the UK. +
The Code of Practice for Research is an essential reference tool to support researchers and research organisations in the conduct of research of the highest quality and standards.
Drawing upon UKRIO’s unique and extensive experiences in addressing good practice and misconduct in research, the Code provides key principles for researchers and research organisations alike. It also contains a Recommended Checklist for Researchers, a non-technical checklist for the key points of good practice in research.
Applicable to all types of research, organisations can use the Code as a benchmark when drafting or revising their own codes of research practice, or adopt it in full or in part. Use of the Code can assist researchers and organisations in fulfilling the requirements of regulatory, funding and other bodies and ensure that important issues have not been overlooked.
Researchers can use the Code for guidance on good practice covering not only every aspect of the research process, but also wider topics such as collaborative working, leadership and supervision, research culture, reproducibility and research assessment. +
Developed through a cross-sector project commissioned by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), UKRIO has published a new suite of resources to support research contributors in adopting and promoting good authorship practice. The toolkit was informed by consultation with stakeholders across the research community and reflects a breadth of disciplinary and sectoral perspectives.
The toolkit includes:
* Guidance on Good Authorship Practice
* Model Authorship Dispute Procedure
* Template Authorship Strategy Agreement +
Due to huge advancements in digitization over the past decades, internet-mediated research is now an important constituent of scientific research. Therefore, it is important that research institutions and researchers be aware of the pros and cons of this novel research method. +
Although the COPE guidelines provide guidance to editors and publishers on authorship and publication practices, this awareness needs to spread to a wider audience that includes researchers, supporting staff and administrators. This guideline, besides clarifying publication-related terminology (such as retractions, partial retractions, expressions of concern and corrections), provides information on when retractions are warranted and the extent of researchers' responsibilities. +
Research involving security-sensitive topics could raise issues that go well beyond the scope of non-legal guidance. Since the UKRIO is an advisory body, it cannot ensure that all legal aspects are addressed, and therefore encourages researchers and research institutions to seek guidance from the concerned legal authority. +
The UKRIO is an independent advisory body to all research performing organizations in the UK. As part of their responsibilities, they provide guidelines on handling research misconducts, including principles and practical aspects of the investigation. Rather than being a prescriptive binding framework, it provides a model for research organizations to modify according to their requirements. +
The UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) is an independent organization that provides advisory support to all research performing institutions in the UK. Their Self-Assessment Tool has been designed to help institutions align with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, which is the UK's leading national RI guideline. Using this checklist, universities and other research performing organizations can identify their strengths and weaknesses in terms of research integrity adherence. +
Based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a treaty that encourages its parties to respect and promote civil and political rights of individuals, such as freedom of speech, assembly and religion and the right to life, self-determination. The treaty has 53 articles divided into 6 parts. +
The BlueMed Initiative e-training course titled ''“Understanding and acting for a healthy plastic-free Mediterranean Sea”'' is an online education programme that explores marine plastic pollution in the Mediterranean. It includes '''11 sessions''' a mix of webinars and released course materials covering topics such as plastics and microplastics, pollution pathways, monitoring protocols, new technologies for detection and removal, and the impact on marine ecosystems. It also connects plastic pollution to sectors of the “blue economy” (e.g. fisheries, shipping, tourism), promoting circular economy practices, governance, citizen awareness, and sustainable, blue-economy jobs. +
This is a factual case. +
Open science is a set of principles and practices that aim to make scientific research from all fields accessible to everyone for the benefits of scientists and society as a whole. Open science is about making sure not only that scientific knowledge is accessible but also that the production of that knowledge itself is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.
The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science provides an internationally agreed definition, as well as a set of shared values and guiding principles for open science. It also identifies a set of actions conducive to a fair and equitable operationalization of open science for all at the individual, institutional, national, regional and international levels. +
The document 'Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers', developed in 2018 in International, is a international guideline that addresses the principles of research integrity. Authored by UNESCO, and available in English, it targets the research community in International. It provides clear expectations for responsible conduct in research and defines practices that safeguard honesty, transparency, and accountability. The text outlines responsibilities of both individual researchers and institutions. It identifies misconduct such as plagiarism, data falsification, fabrication, and unethical authorship, while also promoting good practices in publication, peer review, and collaborative research. It emphasizes effective data management, openness in reporting, and respect for colleagues, participants, and the wider community. Institutions are encouraged to create supportive environments through policies, training, and oversight mechanisms. The document serves as an official reference for aligning national research standards with international expectations, reinforcing ethical norms across research fields. +
The US based Office of Research Integrity has a range of resources, including case studies. on research integrity. These are continually updated. +
Understanding artificial intelligence ethics and safety: A guide for the responsible design and implementation of AI systems in the public sector +
A remarkable time of human promise has been ushered in by the convergence of the ever-expanding availability of big data, the soaring speed and stretch of cloud computing platforms, and the advancement of increasingly sophisticated machine learning algorithms.
Innovations in AI are already leaving a mark on government, by improving the provision of essential social goods and services from healthcare, education, and transportation to food supply, energy, and environmental management. These bounties are likely just the start.
The prospect that progress in AI will help government to confront some of its most urgent challenges is exciting, but legitimate worries abound. As with any new and rapidly evolving technology, a steep learning curve means that mistakes and miscalculations will be made and that both unanticipated and harmful impacts will occur.
In order to manage these impacts responsibly and to direct the development of AI systems toward optimal public benefit, The Alan Turing Institute's Public Policy Programme partnered with the [https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-for-artificial-intelligence Office for Artificial Intelligence] and the [https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-digital-service Government Digital Service] to produce guidance on the responsible design and implementation of AI systems in the public sector. +
Read the article by MIT News linked in the first slide of this course (news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117). You’ll learn about the energy and resource demands of generative AI, as well as realistic strategies that reduce environmental impacts while maintaining performance. Then, come back and complete the interactive exercises. +
This blog post is about a retracted article about the spread of aerosolised coronavirus that had received noticeable media attention but was suddenly retracted. Neither the publishing journal nor the corresponding author has reacted to requests for further information. +
