Research Integrity Charter

 

Preamble

The Università Politecnica delle Marche (hereafter UNIVPM) is well aware that scientific research is an important social investment, whose fundamental objective is to contribute to the knowledge, culture, progress and sustainable development, as well as to the improvement of the living conditions of the whole society. UNIVPM is also aware that the fundamental responsibilities of a scientific community consist in:

  • Formulating principles for research integrity;
  • Defining criteria for the appropriate behaviour of all personnel directly or indirectly involved in research activities, irrespective of their role, title or academic qualification;
  • Maximising, in all areas of research, the quality and reliability of research;
  • Responding effectively to threats and breaches of research integrity.

UNIVPM is therefore committed to the respect and full implementation of the principles, ethical and deontological values and professional standards on which the responsible and diligent conduct of those who plan, conduct, finance and evaluate scientific research activities, as well as of the institutions that promote and carry them out, is based. To this end, UNIVPM recognises that the term "researcher" means anyone who carries out research activities within the Università Politecnica delle Marche, in any capacity, regardless of role or academic qualification.

This document represents the framework for the regulation, in ethical terms, of the research activity carried out by UNIVPM and incorporates the principles and values of research integrity as stated in The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, integrating them in such a way as to address the specific characteristics of the different areas in which research is carried out at UNIVPM.

These principles are intended as guidelines which do not replace the more specific rules of conduct and standards in effect in the respective scientific areas. Rather, they aim at summarising and standardising such rules and standards, in order to guarantee a better understanding and application of them. Acceptance of the principles of this Code requires not only that they be respected but also that they be promoted, with the aim of increasing awareness of them, and that responsibility be taken for their implementation in relation to each individual's role and expertise.

 

Article 1 - Principles

The following principles are fundamental to research integrity:

Reliability in the assurance of research quality at all stages: in the design, choice and application of methodology, conduct of analysis and use of resources;

Honesty in the development, conduct and review of research activity and in reporting and communicating results in a manner which is transparent, fair, comprehensive and objective;

Respect for colleagues, research participants, society, the ecosystem, cultural heritage and the environment;

Accountability covering all stages of research: from conception to publication of results, including management and planning of research activities, training, supervision and mentoring, and consideration of all possible impacts.

 

Article 2 - Research Best Practices

2.1 Research Environment

  1. UNIVPM promotes awareness and a culture of integrity in research;
  2. UNIVPM defines and implements clear and transparent policies and procedures on best practices in the conduct of research and on the management of breaches of these practices;
  3. UNIVPM ensures an appropriate framework for the management and protection of data and research results (qualitative and quantitative data, protocols, processes, other research output and associated metadata) as necessary for reproducibility, traceability and accountability;
  4. UNIVPM encourages the highest standards of open and transparent procedures for the recruitment and career advancement of researchers.

2.2 Training, Supervision and Mentoring

  1. UNIVPM ensures that researchers receive appropriate training in the design and conduct of research activities and in the analysis of their results;
  2. UNIVPM guarantees proper training in research ethics and integrity and ensures that all individuals directly or indirectly involved in research are aware of the relevant standards and regulations;
  3. Senior researcher staff, research coordinators and supervisors provide mentoring and specific training and advice to members of their research groups in order to suitably develop, devise and structure the research and to promote a culture of research integrity.

2.3 Research Procedures

  1. Researchers use the latest state-of-the-art methods to develop their research ideas;
  2. Researchers design, conduct and document research in an accurate and conscientious manner;
  3. Researchers use funds, whether public or private, appropriately and conscientiously and in a manner consistent with the research objectives for which the funds were allocated;
  4. Researchers publish results and interpretations of data in a fair, honest, transparent and accurate manner, and respect the confidentiality of data or results where legitimately required;
  5. Researchers report data in a way that conforms to the standards concerning the subject area in question and, where possible, in a verifiable and reproducible manner.

2.4 Guarantees

  1. Researchers respect the codes and standards applicable to their disciplines;
  2. Researchers conduct research by treating subjects, whether human, animal, cultural, biological, environmental or physical, with due care and respect, in accordance with ethical and legal standards;
  3. Researchers give due consideration to the health, safety and welfare of the community, collaborators and all others involved in the research;
  4. Research protocols take into account, with all appropriate sensitivity, differences in age, gender, culture, religion, ethnic origin and social class of the subjects involved in the research;
  5. Researchers recognise and mitigate against all potential dangers and risks associated with their research.

2.5 Data Management

  1. UNIVPM recognises that good research data management practices, essential for reproducibility, traceability and accountability, are not a goal in themselves, but rather a crucial channel leading to knowledge sharing and innovation, as well as to the subsequent integration and reuse of data and expertise;
  2. Researchers ensure appropriate management and care of all data and research materials, including unpublished ones, by storing them securely for a suitable timeframe and, when relevant for scientific research activities, in internationally approved databases;
  3. Researchers and UNIVPM ensure, whenever possible and in line with applicable confidentiality clauses, access to data is as open as possible, in compliance with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable) principles of data management;
  4. Researchers and UNIVPM ensure transparency on how their data and research materials are accessed and used;
  5. Researchers and UNIVPM recognise data as legitimate and citable scientific output;
  6. Researchers and UNIVPM shall ensure that any contract or agreement relating to research results includes fair and equitable provisions regarding their use, ownership and protection in the framework of intellectual property rights.

2.6 Collaborative Work

  1. In collaborative research, all participants are responsible for the integrity of the research;
  2. In collaborative research, all participants agree on the objectives of the research and on the manner in which the results will be reported, which should be as open and transparent as possible;
  3. From the very beginning of the collaboration, all participants agree on the standards regarding research integrity, on the rules and regulations to be applied, on the protection of the intellectual property of the collaborators, and on the procedures for dealing with conflicts and possible cases of misconduct;
  4. In collaborative research, all partners are properly briefed and consulted regarding the publication of results.

2.7 Publication and Dissemination of Results

  1. Each author is fully responsible for the content of their publication, unless otherwise stated;
  2. All authors agree on the order in which their names appear in the publication and acknowledge that authorship is based on a significant contribution to the design of the research, the collection of the data or the analysis or interpretation of the results, or the writing of the publication itself;
  3. Authors ensure that their work is made available to the scientific community in a timely, complete, transparent and accurate manner. The authors acknowledge that the need to define the primacy of a discovery and the possible intellectual property of its applications may affect the timing and manner of publication of results differently from case to case. However, any delay that is not properly justified is acknowledged to be a brake on scientific progress and as such should be avoided. Similarly, the authors assure that the speed of publication or the aspiration to achieve a high number of publications in one's scientific curriculum will never be put before the originality, accuracy, reliability and relevance of the results;
  4. Authors undertake to be honest in their communications with the public, through both traditional methods and via social media;
  5. UNIVPM promotes an open science policy aimed at the maximum internal and external dissemination of research results. Researchers commit themselves, whenever possible, to promote this policy;
  6. Researchers promptly update their personal profiles and the list of their publications in the Institutional Directory, making documents available in accordance with the open access policy and within the limits allowed by copyright;
  7. Authors appropriately acknowledge the work and intellectual contribution of others, including collaborators, assistants and sponsors, who have contributed to the research being published and properly credit their contribution;
  8. All authors declare in a transparent and comprehensive manner any conflicts of interest that might compromise objectivity in the conduct of the research, in the publication of the results, and in the evaluation of the work of others;
  9. All authors hereby declare the financial or other support received for the carrying out of the research and/or the publication of its results;
  10. Authors who discover errors after publication of an article must correct or retract the publication as soon as possible;
  11. The dissemination of research results must respect the confidentiality of the persons involved. If, for scientific reasons, anonymity is not possible, the prior informed consent of the persons whose personal data are to be disseminated must be obtained;
  12. Researchers comply with all the above criteria whether they publish in subscription journals, open access journals or any other form of alternative publication.

2.8 Revision, Assessment and Editing

  1. Researchers promote the advancement of their scientific area of interest by making themselves available for referencing, reviewing and evaluation activity with due care and diligence;
  2. Researchers review and evaluate proposals for publication, funding, nomination, recommendation or awards with honesty, care and transparency, giving appropriate reasons for their decisions;
  3. Reviewers with possible conflicts of interest refrain from making decisions regarding publication, funding, nomination, promotion or award decisions;
  4. Reviewers maintain confidentiality in their work, unless there is explicit authorisation for disclosure;
  5. Reviewers respect the rights of authors and fellow workers. Under no circumstances may they derive any scientific or personal advantage from knowing the results of a research project before its publication.

Article 3 - Violations of Research Integrity

UNIVPM considers it crucial that researchers are aware of the methodologies and ethical practices in their respective research areas and that they know that failure to comply with good research practices constitutes a violation of professional responsibility, which undermines the research activity, compromises the relationship between researchers, erodes the trust and credibility of the research and of the Institution, wastes resources and can expose not only the researcher and the user of its results, but also society and the environment to avoidable damage.

Scientific Fraud and Other Unacceptable Conduct

Scientific fraud in research is defined as fabrication, falsification or plagiarism (FFP) in the proposal, implementation, review of research or in the reporting and communication of research results. These three forms of violation are considered extremely serious since they falsify research results.

Fabrication consists in inventing data or results that have not been factually achieved;

Falsification consists in the manipulation of materials, equipment or research processes, or the unjustified alteration, omission or suppression of data or results. Such practices shall be considered as falsification if it can be demonstrated that they have been carried out for the purpose of presenting research results in a misleading manner. This category also includes omissions in the publication of relevant parts of the results or details of the research method where such omissions are intended to intentionally distort the results and conclusions of the publication;

Plagiarism is the intentional appropriation of the work and ideas of others without giving proper credit to the original sources, thereby violating the rights of the original authors to their own intellectual property.

In addition to the above mentioned fraudulent activity, examples of other unacceptable conduct include (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Manipulating authorship of publications or omitting, denigrating or belittling the contribution made to one's own research by other researchers;
  • Republishing substantial parts of one's own previous work, including translations, without citing or acknowledging the original (self-plagiarism);
  • Citing inappropriately to improve one's own results or bibliographic rankings, or to favour editors, reviewers or colleagues;
  • Refraining from disseminating research results;
  • Allowing sponsors to influence the independence of research or the communication of results, so as to introduce or encourage biased interpretations;
  • Unnecessarily expanding the bibliography of a study;
  • Accusing a researcher in bad faith of misconduct or other violations;
  • Falsely reporting research results;
  • Delaying or obstructing the work of other researchers;
  • Abusing one's rank to encourage violations of research integrity;
  • Ignoring alleged violations of research integrity by others or covering up inadequate responses to misconduct or other violations by institutions;
  • Founding or supporting journals that compromise research quality control (predatory journals).

In the most serious cases, unacceptable conduct shall be penalised, but every effort shall be made to prevent, discourage and stop it through training, supervision and mentoring and through the development of a positive and supportive research environment.

 

Article 4 - Handling of Violations and Reports of Misconduct

Engaging in misconduct that is detrimental to the values of this Code is considered by UNIVPM as a violation of its Code of Ethics for Research. The assessment of the existence of conduct detrimental to the integrity of research and the nature of sanctions shall be the responsibility of the competent body.