Courses
Research Integrity
Research Integrity
Research Integrity is defined as the conduct of research activities in a manner that fosters trust and confidence in the methods employed and the findings produced. It encompasses both the integrity of the scientific processes underpinning the research and the professional integrity demonstrated by researchers throughout the research lifecycle.
Atlantic Technological University (ATU) is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity across all aspects of research. This commitment includes ensuring that research is conducted in accordance with appropriate ethical, legal, and professional frameworks, obligations, and standards.
Research activity at ATU is guided by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and the National Policy Statement on Ensuring Research Integrity in Ireland. ATU requires that all research activities are undertaken in line with the highest standards of professionalism, transparency, and methodological rigour.
The Framework to Enhance Research Integrity in Research Collaborations provides guidance to researchers on fostering a culture of responsible research practice, aligned with both national and European codes of conduct on research integrity.
Research Integrity Officer
Ruth Moran is the Graduate Education and Research Integrity Officer, bringing extensive practitioner experience to the role. She has previously served as Chair of the National Research Integrity Forum, founded a National research integrity group named CIRIT and was a member of the national working group that contributed to the development of Ireland’s National Policy on Ensuring Research Integrity and is a member of ATU Ethics committee.
The research integrity office is responsible for the delivery of research integrity training, workshops and provides specialist guidance to researchers and research supervisors on responsible research practices, responsible supervisory practices, and related institutional and national policies and legislation. A core function of the Research Integrity Office is the receipt, assessment, and management of allegations of irresponsible research practices, questionable research practices (QRPs), and research misconduct.
A key responsibility is to receive, handle and investigate any breaches of Research misconduct. For further information, please don’t hesitate to contact: Ruth.moran@atu.ie
Raising Complaints
If you are concerned and need to seek advice in relation to research integrity breaches or research integrity practices at ATU, you can contact the Research integrity office at any time. This advice is not an informal complaint or initiating a formal investigation. The advisory capacity of the research integrity officer will be delivered in a confidential, supportive and safe manner.
A formal complaint must be made in writing through the completion and submission of an email with any supporting documentation to the research integrity officer, ruth.moran@atu.ie.
Any postgraduate student, researcher, individual or external body receiving an allegation about research misconduct should refer the complainant to the RIO.
Research Integrity Clinics
The research integrity clinics provide a supportive and confidential advisory space for researchers, postgraduate research students, postgraduate research supervisors, and postdoctoral candidates to raise any research integrity concerns or queries confidentially. Individuals who wish to arrange a confidential one-to-one discussion with ATU’s Research Integrity Office are invited to contact Ruth Moran at ruth.moran@atu.ie to schedule an appointment.
Research Misconduct
Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism (FFP) in proposing, performing, reviewing, or reporting research. It involves intentional deception rather than honest error, undermining scientific integrity, wasting resources, and causing harm. Key actions include making up data, manipulating results, and misappropriating credit.
Questionable Research Practices
Questionable Research Practices (QRPs) refer to research behaviours—such as p-hacking, hypothesising after results are known (HARKing), and selective reporting—that can bias findings and artificially inflate the perceived significance, impact, or publishability of results.
- p-hacking: Conducting multiple statistical analyses or selectively reporting results until statistically significant findings emerge.
- HARKing: Presenting post hoc hypotheses as if they were formulated prior to data analysis.
- Selective Data Exclusion: Removing data points based on criteria determined after observing the results.
- Salami Slicing: Fragmenting a single study into multiple smaller publications to increase publication output.
Training
Research Integrity Training
All active researcher staff and research students in the ATU are required to undertake research integrity training. The Research Integrity training is delivered via an online platform which is Epigeum and comprises of various Research Integrity modules.
The modules are explorative in areas of Research like like planning, managing, recording research and the responsibilities of a good researcher. This training provides an insight into the fundamentals of Research Integrity while enabling a researcher to undertake self-assessment techniques while been awarded a certification on the competition of each module. This training is imperative to a Researcher’s career as it is highly recommended by external funding agencies and the outline of the course is listed below:
For further information on the Epigeum training or any Research Integrity matter, please contact ruth.moran@atu.ie
Research Integrity, Epigeum training consists of eight core modules and five specialised modules.
Core modules
| Module Name | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Module 1 | Good Research Conduct | 25 mins |
| Module 2 | Irresponsible Research Practices | 23 mins |
| Module 3 | Planning Your Research | 28 mins |
| Module 4 | Managing and Recording Your Research | 36 mins |
| Module 5 | Data Selection, Analysis and Presentation | 33 mins |
| Module 6 | Scholarly Publication | 40 mins |
| Module 7 | Professional Responsibilities | 30 mins |
| Module 8 | Communication, Social Responsibility and Impact | 35 mins |
Optional Specialist modules (not mandatory)
| Module Name | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Module 9 | Conflicts of Interest | 25 mins |
| Module 10 | Research Involving Human Participants | 34 mins |
| Module 11 | The Care and Use of Animals in Research | 30 mins |
| Module 12 | Intellectual Property | 26 mins |
| Module 13 | Export Controls | 20 mins |
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for the Research Integrity, Second Edition modules are as follows:
Module 1: Good Research Conduct
- Recognise the importance of good research conduct and define some of the basic terms associated with it
- Distinguish between research integrity and research ethics
- Identify sources of guidance on professional responsibility
- Identify the general scope and function of government regulations
- Explain the role of institutions in promoting good research conduct
- Summarise the basic virtues that guide personal integrity.
Module 2: Irresponsible Research Practices
- Describe and provide examples of the two approaches that governments and organisations worldwide have taken in defining and responding to irresponsible conduct in research
- Explain how irresponsible conduct is defined and handled in Ireland
- Be aware of the questions you should ask yourself to avoid irresponsible practices
- Explain the difference between questionable research practices and misconduct
- Discuss the impact of irresponsible practices on research
- Identify the steps to be taken to report irresponsible behaviour in research.
Module 3: Planning Your Research
- Describe the common elements of a research plan
- Discuss the importance of research plans and identify how others might use your research plan
- List the types of governance approval that could be required before beginning a research project, and describe the implications of not having approvals in place
- Explain the reasons for and types of agreements that should be in place before beginning a research project
- Illustrate some of the problems that could arise if a research project is not properly planned.
Module 4: Managing and Recording Your Research
- Be able to create a project management checklist to summarise the main responsibilities in your research project and identify potential problems
- Describe the purpose and importance of keeping a record of your research
- Explain what is required to keep a record that will validate your findings and allow others to replicate your work
- Know and apply the basic standards for storing, protecting and sharing research data.
Module 5: Data Selection, Analysis and Presentation
- Identify responsible and irresponsible practices in data selection
- Describe the role of analysis in the responsible conduct of research
- Explain the virtues underpinning best practice in data presentation
- Provide examples of irresponsible practices that researchers have used when selecting, analysing and presenting results.
Module 6: Scholarly Publication
- Discuss the factors that should be considered when making decisions on when and how to publish
- Identify key factors that should be considered when selecting a journal
- Summarise the key elements that need to be considered when drafting a scholarly publication
- Summarise the basic principles for assigning authorship and acknowledging the contributions of others
- Illustrate the different types of plagiarism and how to avoid plagiarism
- Explain how scholarly publications are submitted and reviewed
- Identify and explain the key post-publication responsibilities authors have.
Module 7: Professional Responsibilities
- Set out the responsibilities that supervisors, students and researchers have when they enter into a mentoring relationship
- Explain the responsibilities of individual researchers engaged in teamwork/collaborations
- Explain the additional responsibilities that can emerge when researchers are involved in larger scale teams/collaborations
- Discuss the primary responsibilities of peer reviewers, and provide examples of the ways in which these responsibilities can be compromised.
Module 8: Communication, Social Responsibility and Impact
- Identify the broader roles researchers can take on over the course of a career and the special responsibilities that come with these roles
- Discuss the challenges researchers face when identifying their audience and developing plans for research communications
- Illustrate the ways in which poor working relationships between professionals engaged in broader service can be detrimental to research
- Explain why it is important for researchers to separate their personal positions from their professional views when communicating their research
- Explain what is meant by ‘impact’ and the different views on how impact should be assessed.
Module 9: Conflicts of Interest
- Recognise the importance of disclosing conflicts of interest
- Define and give examples of conflicts of interest
- Describe when and how conflicts of interest should be reported
- Explain how conflicts of interest are handled in Ireland
- Explain the expectations that institutions have in relation to conflicts of interest
- Give examples of the consequences of not reporting conflicts of interest.
Module 10: Research Involving Human Participants
- Describe the origin and purpose of the guiding principles set out in the major codes of conduct for research involving human participants
- Explain why research involving human participants requires review and approval before any work is undertaken and how projects are reviewed
- List the main information researchers are expected to provide when applying for approval to conduct research involving human participants
- Summarise how research involving human participants is reviewed and approved in Ireland
- Explain what is meant by an ‘ethical’ study and the primary concerns that research ethics committees address when making judgements about the ethics of studies
- Summarise the continuing responsibilities researchers have once a project is approved
- List and provide examples of the major challenges that can be faced in ensuring that human participants in research are protected.
Module 11: The Care and Use of Animals in Research
- Summarise the four basic responsibilities researchers have for the care and use of animals in research
- Describe the purpose and content of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement)
- Discuss the role and purpose of Animal Welfare Ethical Review Bodies (AWERB), and government regulation of experiments using live animals (The Home Office Animals in Science Regulation Unit; ASRU)
- Summarise the information that could be called for when you are seeking approval for a project
- List some of the continuing responsibilities researchers have after receiving AWERB/ASRU approval when conducting research with animals
- Explain why it is important to take public attitudes into consideration when conducting research that involves the use of animals.
Module 12: Intellectual Property
- Define ‘intellectual property’ as it relates to research
- Explain when and how researchers can copyright their research
- Explain when and how researchers can patent their research
- Discuss some of the limitations on intellectual property protection in research
- Explain the steps that should be taken to establish ownership of intellectual property
- Explain how intellectual property is managed in Ireland
- Provide examples of the emerging issues associated with copyright and the patent protection of research.
Module 13: Export Controls
- Explain the purpose of export controls and their role in research
- Describe and provide examples of the major ways in which research could be subject to export controls
- Summarise the steps researchers should follow to identify and manage export controls
- Explain how export controls that could apply to your research are governed and administered in Ireland and at your institution
- Provide examples of how export controls affect researchers and some of the consequences of failing to comply.
Frequently Asked Questions
- The training is free to all ATU staff and students.
- If you completed the previous version of the Epigeum training (in the last three years) you do not have to complete this new version at this time.
- All queries should be directed to the Research Office: Research Integrity Officer, Ruth Moran (ruth.moran@atu.ie)