Guide to Open Access Publishing: Research Integrity

The University of the Western Cape's framework provides a reflection on the university’s principles and core values: integrity, respect, professionalism, and involvement. Research integrity is an essential and integral part of good research practices and is a key element in the education of future generations and researchers. The University recommends the Code of Conduct for Research Integrity which also includes compliance with applicable regulations and legislation copyright, intellectual property, protection of personal information as well as data management.

Research integrity may be defined as active adherence to the ethical principles and professional standards essential for the responsible practice of research (Korenman, SG).

Research integrity means researching in a way that allows others to have trust and confidence in the methods used and the findings that result from this (University of Bath).

Integrity (from the Latin integritas, meaning whole or complete) refers in ethics to adherence to a code of conduct or a usually high standard of practice. Research integrity thus indicates researching by standards that properly inform and guide that research activity—without deviance under any inappropriate influences. Integrity in this sense has close correlates with authenticity and accountability (Encyclopedia.com)

Principles of Research Integrity

Honesty in all aspects of research

Accountability in the conduct of research

Professional courtesy and fairness in working with others

Good stewardship of research on behalf of others

(Resnik and Shamoo, 2011)

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

Association of Clinical Research Professionals (Code of Ethics)

Ethics in health research (DoH)

What is ethics in research and why is it important? (2015) 

Research misconduct and publication ethics: A South African perspective (2019)

Is there plagiarism in the most influential publications in the field of andrology? (2019)

The many sides of research integrity: for integrity in nursing (2015)

Harvard and the Brigham call for more than 30 retractions of cardiac stem cell research (2018)

Researchers’ interpretations of research integrity: A qualitative study (2018)

The Belmont Report (1979)

Research integrity in scientific professions

Online Word Spinning Tools

Mark Snyders

Manager Scholarly Communication

e-mail: mpsnyders@uwc.ac.za

Tel: +27 21 959 2938