Code of Practice for Research
One of our core functions is to promote good practice in the governance, management and general conduct of research. Though set up to provide support to the health and biomedical research community, since its inception UKRIO has provided advice and guidance to universities, NHS institutions, other research organisations and individual researchers across all subject areas.
UKRIO is committed to promoting good conduct in research by providing the research community with practical guidance on the issues which need to be addressed and facilitating the sharing of existing good practice.
Launch of PDF version of UKRIO's Code of Practice for Research: promoting good practice and preventing misconduct
UKRIO's Code of Practice for Research, revised following a public consultation on a draft version earlier this year, is now available in PDF form. The Code has been produced as part of UKRIO's continuing work to support researchers and research organisations in the promotion of good practice in research and the conduct of research of the highest quality.
The Code has been revised following the valuable feedback given during the consultation. Particular attention has been paid to those areas of the Code which were considered by some to be unclear or excessively prescriptive.
The Code is applicable to all subject areas and does not attempt to micro-manage research. It covers areas of good practice typically included in organisational policies for the conduct of research, drawing upon existing good practice and the experiences of UKRIO in addressing good conduct and misconduct in research. Additional consideration has been given to areas where UKRIO has most often been approached for guidance, in the hope of passing on lessons learned to the research community.
It provides general principles and standards for good practice in research, applicable to both researchers and research organisations. It also includes a one-page Recommended Checklist for Researchers: a non-technical checklist summarising the key points of good practice in research, based upon the more detailed standards provided in the Code. A separate PDF of the Checklist is available here.
We appreciate that there are many sources of guidance on the conduct of research. Our intent is that research organisations can use the principles and standards outlined as benchmarks when drafting or revising their own, more detailed, codes of practice. Use of the benchmarks contained in the Code can assist research organisations in fulfilling the requirements of regulatory, funding and other relevant bodies and ensure that important issues have not been overlooked.
In short, the Code is a reference tool that complements existing and forthcoming guidance on research conduct, such as that provided by Research Councils UK, the Wellcome Trust and the Council for Science and Technology, and does not seek to replace them.
The revised Code is now in production and hard copies will be circulated to the research community in September. In the interim, a PDF version of the Code is available here:
Code of Practice for Research - promoting good practice and preventing misconduct
The one-page PDF of the Recommended Checklist for Researchers is available here.
UKRIO welcomes feedback on the Code of Practice for Research. 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.
Individuals and organisations who would like to receive a hard copy of the Code should contact UKRIO here.
Summary analysis of the consultation on UKRIO's draft Code of Practice for Research
Earlier this year, we consulted the research community on a draft version of the Code of Practice for Research. Over one hundred submissions were received, the vast majority of which were positive. We appreciate that the respondents considered the questions that we had asked, and wider issues of good practice in research, so thoroughly.
Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, the Chair of UKRIO, wrote to respondents on 27th July to thank them for their very helpful comments and inform them of UKRIO's response. A copy of the letter is available here.
A summary of the analysis of the responses to the consultation o UKRIO's draft Code of Practice for Research is available here.
UKRIO would like to thank the individuals and organisations who participated in the consultation for their contribution to the development of the Code.
