Research Conduct at the University of Adelaide
Students and staff members engaged in research are expected to be committed to exemplary standards of professional conduct and integrity.
The broad elements that guide the conduct of research include:
- the maintenance of high ethical standards and intellectual honesty
- validity and accuracy in the collection and reporting of data
- appropriate storage and retention of data
- adherence to the Health, Safety & Wellbeing requirements of the Discipline
- abiding by the University’s guidelines for the authorship of publications
- avoidance of real or apparent conflicts of interest
- the appropriate recognition and assignment of intellectual property, copyright and technical/editing assistance and
- adherence to any confidentiality agreements and contractual agreements.
Responsible Conduct of Research Policy
The University’s Responsible Conduct of Research Policy summarises the standards of conduct and performance required of all those engaged in research at the University.
The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research
All researchers are required to undertake training on the Australian Code for the Responsible Practice of Research. In describing good practice, the Code promotes integrity in research for researchers and explains what is expected of researchers by the community. In providing advice on how to manage departures from best practice, the Code assists researchers, administrators and the community in this important matter.
Management of Research Data
As explained in the Code, the responsible conduct of research includes the proper management and retention of research data. Retaining research data is important because it may be all that remains of the research work at the end of the project. While it may not be practical to keep all the primary material (such as ore, biological material, questionnaires or recordings), durable records derived from them (such as assays, test results, transcripts, and laboratory and field notes) must be retained and accessible.
Ethical Approval
All students must be familiar with the relevant legislative and compliance requirements of the University and also of regulatory and advisory bodies in relation to their research or experimentation.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) is a term used to describe legal rights which may be claimed for certain intellectual creations. IP may be created by higher degree by research students as a result of the research projects they undertake. It is important to remember that any IP generated by higher degree by research students will frequently be the product of a complex interaction between the student, supervisor(s) and third parties as part of a research team. Therefore all higher degree by research students are required to comply with the University Policy on Intellectual Property.
Authorship
The University's Authorship Policy adopts the principles embodied in the Australian Code for the responsible Conduct of Research for the attribution of authorship in research publications.
Commercially, Culturally or Politically Sensitive Research
Notwithstanding the academic community's general desire for complete openness about all aspects of research, in some cases material must be kept confidential. For example, if you are a health or social science researcher, you may have obtained data from individuals who only agreed to participate in your study provided that nothing was published that would enable them to be identified.
Resourcing your Research
In preparing your research proposal, you and your School should consider the minimum resources to which you will require access during your candidature in order to successfully complete your proposed research project. These will be specified in the 'Minimum Resources Proforma', which forms part of the 'Core Component of the Structured Program' form. In addition, your School may provide a fixed amount of money to you each year for research related purposes (e.g. travel, conference and workshop attendances, photocopying, printing, interlibrary loans etc).
Health, Safety & Wellbeing
The University of Adelaide is committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of health, safety and well being for all students, employees and visitors while they are at the University.
Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest occurs when you have a private or personal interest or other external commitment, which may appear to an independent observer to be sufficient to influence and therefore compromise the validity of the research process by influencing impartial judgement. Disclosure of any actual or potential conflict of interest is essential for the responsible conduct of research.
Paid Assistance for Undertaking Research
The Research Education & Development Committee has determined that it is acceptable for you to engage another person(s) (paid or otherwise) to assist in your research. The assistance may take the form of data collection (though not the manipulation of that data), preparation of routine chemicals and media or any similar tasks, provided that the proposed assistance is discussed with and approved by the School from the beginning and is appropriately acknowledged in your thesis.
Postgraduate Students as Research Grant Recipients
The University recognises the value of students applying for a postgraduate grant-in-aid, as distinct from an independent research project (grant-in-contract), but is concerned that this could detract you from the prime objective of completing your research within the prescribed duration of your candidature. The project emphasis or workload demanded by an externally funded project may compromise or delay your study program.
