Welcome to the website of the UK Research Integrity Office

The UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) is an independent body which offers advice and guidance to universities and other research organisations, and also to individual researchers, about the conduct of research.

Hosted by Universities UK, our aims are to:

promote the good governance, management and conduct of research;
share good practice on how to address misconduct in research; and
give advice and guidance on specific cases.

Although our formal remit is to provide support to the health and biomedical sciences research community, since our inception we have given advice and guidance to universities, NHS institutions, other research organisations and individual researchers across all subject areas.

All requests for advice are kept confidential and we welcome enquiries from individual researchers as well as from research organisations. A leaflet describing the work of UKRIO is available here and details on how to contact us can be found here.

UKRIO is guided by its Board, whose Members are nominated by the organisations which regulate and fund health and biomedical research. Chaired by Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, the Board guides UKRIO's programme of work. Biographies of the Board Members can be found here.

UKRIO is not a regulatory body and has no formal legal powers. It was set up to provide independent support to employers, research organisations, researchers and members of the public where there was none. The advice and guidance it offers is not mandatory but reflects best practice in the conduct of research and addressing misconduct.

UKRIO recognises that there are many organisations which issue guidance on the conduct of research to the UK research community. For some time, UKRIO has been working with organisations such as Research Councils UK and the Department of Health, with a view ultimately to streamline guidance on good practice in research, to ensure that it is clear for the research community, and to avoid duplication of effort. Further developments will be made known to the research community as they occur.

Recent News - for other items of interest, please see our Sector News page

Publication of UKRIO's Code of Practice for Research: Promoting good practice and preventing misconduct

UKRIO today launches its Code of Practice for Research: Promoting good practice and preventing misconduct.

The Code addresses long-standing concerns in the research community about research misconduct and questionable practices. The UK has a world-class reputation for conducting exceptional and innovative research and for producing researchers of the highest calibre.

UKRIO has now produced the Code of Practice for Research, a reference tool to support researchers and research organisations in the conduct of research of the highest quality. The Code can help research organisations ensure that important issues have not been overlooked and applies to all types of research.

Drawing upon UKRIO's experiences in addressing good conduct and misconduct in research, the Code provides principles and standards for researchers and research organisations and also includes a Recommended Checklist for Researchers: a one-page, non-technical checklist for the key points of good practice in research, based on the more detailed standards provided by the Code.

Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, Chair of the Board of UKRIO said: "UKRIO is increasingly providing support to universities and NHS Trusts who recognise that research misconduct and questionable practices can tarnish the UK's well-earned reputation as a centre of excellence in research. The Code is a vital part of our continuing work to encourage good conduct in research and to help to prevent misconduct, setting out the responsibilities and values critical to research, as well as providing practical guidance for researchers and their employers."

Professor Dame Sally C. Davies, Director-General of Research and Development at the Department of Health said: "I am delighted to see the UK Research Integrity Office continuing to deliver tools that enable researchers and their employers to maintain this country's international reputation in research and innovation. We rely on excellent, sound research to improve health and healthcare for patients and their families."

Individuals and organisations who would like to receive a hard copy of the Code should contact UKRIO.

The Code and a separate version of the Recommended Checklist are also available as PDFs:

UKRIO Code of Practice for Research: Promoting good practice and preventing misconduct (567KB)

Press release: UKRIO Code of Practice for Research press release 01 10 09.pdf

For more information, please visit our page on the Code of Practice for Research.

UKRIO welcomes feedback on the Code. A web-based version of the Code, including a mechanism for the research community to submit feedback on specific sections and suggest new developments in good practice in research for inclusion, will be published on this site shortly.

Times Higher Education: 'Publish or perish' factor in spiralling retractions

The rate at which scientific journal articles are being retracted has increased roughly tenfold over the last two decades, an exclusive analysis for Times Higher Education reveals. The article also covers a forthcoming study to be presented at the Sixth International Congress on Peer Review which examines more than 300 cases of retractions in the PubMed database and the reasons for them. UKRIO's Code of Practice for Research is also discussed.

Update: research integrity training

UKRIO has been working with King's College London to provide training in implementing the Procedure and fostering good practice in research.

The two-day courses feature speakers from universities who have responsibility for fostering good practice in research and investigating misconduct in research and also representatives from UKRIO. Training includes a variety of case studies, practitioners relating their own experiences, and opportunities for delegates to share experiences and consider how research integrity is best supported in different contexts.

Courses for the current academic year have now concluded but further courses are planned for 2010. For further information, contact UKRIO.

Update: feedback sought on UKRIO's Procedure for the Investigation of Misconduct in Research

In September 2008, UKRIO launched its standard Procedure for the Investigation of Misconduct in Research. The Procedure is designed to ensure that investigations of alleged research misconduct are carried out thoroughly and fairly. It works with existing institutional processes such as disciplinary and grievance procedures and does not replace them.

Since its launch, the Procedure has been used by universities and NHS Trusts to investigate allegations of research misconduct, which can have serious and wide-ranging implications if not addressed properly. Research organisations can adopt the Procedure for use when investigating allegations of misconduct in research or use it as a reference tool when revising their existing processes to address misconduct. UKRIO is happy to provide advice and assistance to institutions on the adoption and use of the Procedure and on the general revision of polices and systems to address misconduct.

Further details on the Procedure can be found here and a PDF version of the publication can be downloaded here.

UKRIO would welcome feedback on the Procedure, its adoption by research organisations and its use in investigating allegations of misconduct. Details on how to contact us can be found here.

For other items of interest, please see our sector news page