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)
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Post publication peer review (PPPR) is a type of peer review where, unlike in the traditional peer review system, the review is done after the manuscript has been published. In post publication peer review, anyone can participate in the assessment of an article and suggest changes for improvement. +
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools (such as large language models and chatbots) in peer review is an inevitable occurrence, as well as the ethical considerations surrounding it. The question is how reviewers and editors might responsibly integrate AI (for example, for grammar checks or literature searches) while ensuring that human experts remain responsible for evaluation and that confidentiality is maintained. +
Artificial Intelligence is a broad term, with applications that are not all relevant to issues concerning research and research integrity.
AI Generated Content refers in this instance to texts, academic or otherwise, that are either produced by or in collaboration with AI tools like Chat GPT that use Large Language Models (LLMs) to generate text. These tools can be used in research, and raise interesting questions relating to authorship. +
<span lang="EN-GB">According to Oxford Languages</span> (1), <span lang="EN-GB">AI (Artificial Intelligence) is the application of computer systems capable of performing tasks or producing outputs that normally require human intelligence. Can the AI tools be used for analysis and writing a scientific manuscript? Is it ethical?</span> +
Prioritising interventions and reproducibility measures to improve research reproducibility: a Delphi consultation method +
The '''iRISE (Improving Reproducibility in Science in Europe)''' project is a Horizon Europe initiative aimed at strengthening the reproducibility and integrity of research across disciplines. It brings together stakeholders from social sciences, natural sciences, and biomedical sciences to identify, prioritise, and implement practices and practical tools that enhance research quality. Grounded in the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), iRISE works to ensure that interventions to improve reproducibility are evidence-based, fit for purpose, and tailored to the needs of different stakeholder communities.
Within iRISE, our work focuses on stakeholder engagement and the prioritisation of interventions to improve reproducibility. Building on a comprehensive scoping review (WP2), we use a structured Delphi consultation process to reach cross-disciplinary consensus on which practices and tools should be adopted directly and which require adaptation before implementation. The Delphi method involves iterative rounds of expert consultation, enabling participants to review anonymised group feedback and refine their responses until consensus is achieved. This approach ensures transparency, inclusivity, and community alignment in setting priorities.
Here on The Embassy of Good Science, we share the Delphi process outputs as part of a living, community-informed knowledge base. The data presented includes two priority lists: prioritised interventions and reproducibility measures. By making these results openly available, we aim to support ongoing dialogue, encourage community contribution, and facilitate the uptake, adaptation, and continuous improvement of practices that strengthen research reproducibility across disciplines and stakeholder groups. +
Every research project that involves humans should balance harms and benefits. +
One of the most important steps in informing potential research participants is clearly communicating the aims of the study and ensuring there are no misunderstandings. This has real practical implications. For example, Williams, Irvine, McGinnis, McMurdo & Crombie (2007) surveyed a group of individuals who opted out of a prior cross-sectional study when invited to take part. Although 54% of the individuals contacted refused to participate in the initial study, 61% of this original sample opted to participate in the follow-up study. They identified that the majority of this 61% opted out of the original study due to misunderstandings regarding the research aim and process. +
Sometimes SSH research can be conducted in sites that pose risks to researchers and research participants. That can include regions of conflict or countries with authoritarian regimes.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' In these situations it is important to find a strategy to keep the research participants safe and meet the research objectives.
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Confidentiality is the protection of personal information and data. In a research setting this concerns protecting the identity of research participants and sensitive data. '"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'
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Traditionally forensic anthropologists are occupied with skeletal remains but more and more they are dealing with a different range of preservation of human bodies and body parts that take part in medico-legal processes. In addition, forensic anthropologists are involved in the identification, missing person cases, and individualization of mass disaster victims '"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'. During their work, forensic anthropologists deal with different ethical issues that concern social, cultural, and political domains so ethical considerations can be applied to the profession and the individual '"`UNIQ--ref-00000001-QINU`"'.
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The nature of ethical issues in qualitative research is subtle and different from those in quantitative research. Researchers face ethical challenges at all stages of their research, from design to reporting. There are three main areas in which ethical issues arise[http://www.columbia.edu/~mvp19/RMC/M5/QualEthics.pdf]:
*the research design,
*the researcher/participant relationship,
*the researcher’s subjective interpretations of data.
All aspect of the research process need to be well considered and the use of practical guidelines and protocols in all stages of qualitative studies should be encouraged. +
By definition, children with disabilities are individuals under 18 years of age who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments that, in combination with various barriers, may affect their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. All this raises some ethical issues, connected to research, such as exclusion of children with disabilities, maladapted information giving, consent or assent and methodologies for data collection '"`UNIQ--ref-00000001-QINU`"'. +
Sometimes findings occur that fall outside of the scope of the research questions. These are known as ''incidental findings'' '"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'. These findings may be highly valuable to the participants of a study. They also raise ethical and legal issues, so researchers need to handle them with care.
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Informed assent is a process through which minors agree to participate in clinical trials. This is different from informed consent, because minors cannot provide consent in the full meaning of the word, as they don’t meet the legal age requirements and are considered to be a vulnerable population. For minors, consent is provided by parents or legal guardians, and this process of acquiring both consent and assent is called a dual consent procedure.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'
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Informed consent is a process of acquiring permission from potential participants, before conducting some sort of medical intervention, collection of personal data or enrollment in a study.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'
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Internet Research Ethics refers to application of ethical principles to research carried out on the Internet, whether its intention is to collect data or study human behavior online.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'
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Privacy is considered an important human right, and according to the European Convention on Human Rights “everybody has the right to respect for his private and family life and his correspondence”. '"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' Within research settings privacy has become increasingly important. Privacy concerns protection of identity, in the form of data protection, bodily materials, sealed health records and protection of other sensitive (research) data.
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The basic tenet of animal research is that studying the disease in animals, due to their likeness to humans, can help patients and health research in general. Therefore, animal research in such a context is considered beneficial to human beings and that is the reason why it’s considered to be ethically justified. This does not mean that anything is allowed, and avoiding unnecessary suffering should be a priority of any researcher who works with animals. +
There is a growing interest in empirical research with children. But how to explain the elements of research to children? How can they participate in research in all its phases? What are the suitable goals of the research with children? Children do not have the experience that adults have and may not know what research is and what is expected of them. +
In research with humans, human beings are not only researchers, but also the main subjects of research. Such research can be observational or interventional, and can be medical (including biology, physiology, and clinical trials) or non-medical (social science, political science). Because of ethical issues arising from human research, this area is heavily regulated, to protect the rights and dignity of research participants.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'
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