Research Integrity is defined as performing research activities in a manner that provides trust and confidence in the methods and findings of the research. It encompasses the integrity of the scientific elements of the research and the professional integrity of how it was conducted by the researchers. SETU is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in all aspects of research while ensuring that research is conducted according to appropriate ethical, legal and professional frameworks, obligations and standards.
Research activity at SETU is guided by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and the National Policy Statement on Ensuring Research Integrity in Ireland. SETU requires that all research activities are conducted in line with the highest standards of integrity and research ethics.
The Framework to Enhance Research Integrity in Research Collaborations guides researchers on how to reinforce a culture of responsible research in alignment with the national and European codes of conduct on research integrity. All active researchers in the university are required to undertake research integrity training. Please contact the Research Integrity and Compliance Officer who will be able to assist you with any query relating to research integrity.
Prof. Kim Murphy
Prof. Kim Murphy is Research Integrity and Compliance Officer (RICO) at SETU. Bringing a wealth of experience to SETU, Kim provides specialist advice to researchers and graduates on responsible research practices and relevant policies and legislation.
The office of the RICO is also responsible for developing policies and procedures that support the conduct of good research practice and provides specialist advice to postgraduate students and researchers on legislation and policies that could affect research integrity (e.g. GDPR, authorship, open research, data retention etc.).
A key responsibility of the RICO is to receive and handle any allegations of research misconduct.
Finally, Prof. Murphy oversees and manages the Epigeum research integrity training which is mandatory for all students and researchers engaged in research at SETU. The office of the RICO will also develop additional research integrity training and events for researchers focused on a range of specialist topics.
If you require any advice or support, please email [email protected]
What is Research Misconduct?
Fabrication of data: making up results and recording or reporting them when they are known to be false.
Falsification of data: manipulating research, materials, equipment or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
Plagiarism: the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, including those obtained through confidential review of others' research proposals and manuscripts (as defined in the National Policy Statement on Ensuring Research Integrity in Ireland, 2019).
Selectively excluding data from analysis and deliberate misinterpreting data to obtain desired results, including inappropriate use of statistical methods also constitutes misconduct. Doctoring images in publications or producing false data or results under pressure from a sponsor or a collaborator is also a very serious matter.
Framework to Enhance Research Integrity in Research Collaborations
The Framework to Enhance Research Integrity in Research Collaborations, is designed to help researchers reinforce a culture of responsible conduct of research (research integrity) in their research collaborations, so they can, as far as possible, avoid incidences of serious research misconduct and unacceptable research practices occurring during the collaborative work. The IUA and THEA developed this document in the awareness that collaboration is central to research and innovation, and that increasingly, researchers work together and with a wide range of external stakeholders to deliver outcomes that expand the boundaries of human knowledge and have the potential to deliver real benefits for today’s rapidly developing society.
A copy of the document can be accessed online.
Unacceptable research practice
While fabrication, falsification and plagiarism are very serious issues, other poor research practices may lead to questions around the integrity of research and impact on the reputation of the researcher, the research team or the university. A combination of poor practice and repeated issues in maintaining data integrity may constitute research misconduct.
The practices include the following and are not confined to:
Research procedures; Misconduct relating to research procedures may include harmful or dangerous research methods, poor research design including experimental and computational errors. Other poor research procedures include the violation of human subject protocols and/or failure to protect human subjects from harm and the abuse or mistreatment of laboratory animals.
Data-related practices; This includes poor practices in preserving the primary data for the specified period, poor data management including the storage and sharing of research data and failure to destroy data timely or appropriately. Withholding data from the scientific community also constitutes data related misconduct.
Publication-related practices; This includes the claiming of undeserved authorship, denying authorship to contributors, including authors without permission and artificially proliferating publications. Failure to correct the publication record is also research misconduct.
Personal behaviours; This includes significant deficiencies in supervision of the next generation of researchers and scholars, inappropriate personal behaviour in any form, harassment or insensitivity to social or cultural norms.
Financial and other misconduct; Misconduct may result from the non-disclosure of conflicts of interest, peer review abuse, misrepresenting credentials or publication record, misuse or research funds and/or for personal gain or making up a false, malicious or unsubstantiated misconduct allegations.
Anyone engaged in research activities at SETU is required to complete mandatory Research Integrity (RI) Training which is delivered as an online course through the training provider Epigeum. Under the new revised National Policy Statement for Research Integrity in Ireland (Dec 2024) it has been recommended that this training be repeated at least every five years. A new version of the Epigeum RI training was launched in September 2024 (called “Research Integrity Second Edition (Ire)”) with many new additions and a stronger focus on Irish higher education institutions.
Previously researchers registered and completed the training directly on the epigeum website. However, the training has been transferred to SETU’s two VLEs and this is where you must register and complete the training from now on (you can access it on Moodle in Waterford and on Blackboard in Carlow). To access the training on moodle you will be asked to type in the following enrollment key “seturesearch”. As a result, no new registrations will be accepted on the epigeum website. Please note that if you have already registered and started the RI training on the epigeum website you will not be affected by this change. You may continue to complete it there and download your cert there ( until End of June 2025).
The Epigeum RI training includes a robust certification framework based on key learner outcomes. It consists of 8 core modules and 5 supplementary modules and takes about 4-5 hours to complete. You are expected to complete all 8 modules and to download your certificate of completion at the end. It is essential that you hold on to your certificate as this will be required for internal audit, for applications to the Research Ethics Committee and is required by external funding agencies. Postgraduate research students also have to demonstrate that they have this certificate within the first 12 months of starting their programme.
You can make informal contact with the RICO if you have a concern about research integrity and research practices at SETU. Informal contact does not mean you are raising a complaint or initiating a formal investigation. The RICO is there to provide confidential support and advice.
However, if you have concerns that an act of research misconduct has occurred or is occurring, you must submit your complaint in writing, along with supporting evidence, to [email protected]
SETU's Export Control Policy was recently published, and is available at this link. To find out more about export controls, please visit here.
Research Integrity One-to-One
This one-to-one drop-in research integrity clinic is designed to support and advise postgraduate research students, postdoctoral candidates and supervisors on any research integrity concerns or questions that you may have. If you would prefer to talk to SETU’s Research Integrity and Compliance Officer on a one-to-one basis, and in a confidential space, you can email [email protected] to make an appointment.
The clinic takes place on Fridays between 09.30 and 10.30 at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81013206237?pwd=USN6pBlIKNMH945pxrKXaDFn4Vxepp.1
Passcode: 927585