1. Faculty Information Exchange Series 2017-18
Organized by Office of Research

2. Responsible Conduct of Research: Setting the Context from an Institutional Perspective
Jill Rogers and Randy Ragan
January 16, 2018

3. Responsible Conduct of Research
The Tri-Agency Framework

4. Responsibilities of Researchers
1. Promoting Research Integrity
Using a high level of rigour in proposing and performing research
Keeping complete and accurate records of data, methodologies and findings
Referencing and obtaining permission for use of all published and unpublished work
Authorship – with consent and only those who materially or conceptually contributed
Acknowledging contributions of writers, funders and sponsors
Disclosing and managing conflict of interest including real, potential and perceived
The Framework to which we must comply details the responsibilities of researchers. But, who is a ‘researcher’? It’s anyone at the university engaged in conducting research including students, faculty, PDFs, Adjuncts, Visiting Fellows.

5. Responsibilities of Researchers …
2. Applying for and Holding Funding
Provide true and complete information on application
Certify not otherwise ineligible
Ensure others listed have agreed to be included
3. Management of awards/funding
Using funds in accordance with policies
4. Compliance with other policies and legislation
5. Proactive in rectifying a breach in policy
4. Compliance with other policies and legislation such as: TCPS 2: Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans, Canadian Council on Animal Care Policies and Guidelines, Can. Environment Assessment Act, Laboratory Biosafety guidelines, etc.
5. Proactive in rectifying a breach in policy – like correcting the research record, providing a letter of apology to those impacted by a breach, repaying funds

6. Breaches by Researchers
1. Including but not limited to …..
Fabrication
Falsification
Destruction of research records
Plagiarism
Redundant publications
Invalid authorship
Inadequate acknowledgment
Non-disclosure and/or mismanagement of Conflict of interest
Breaches constitute ‘research misconduct’…
Fabrication – making up data, source material, methodologies, findings
Falsification – manipulating, changing, omitting data, source material, methodologies, findings
Destruction of research records to specifically avoid the detection of wrongdoing or in contravention of agreements, policies, laws
Plagiarism – Using someone else’s published or unpublished work as your own without appropriate referencing or permission
Redundant publications – the republication of your own previously published work or part thereof without adequate acknowledgement
Invalid authorship – inaccurate attribution of authorship including adding someone as an author who didn’t sufficiently contribute to the work OR agreeing to be listed as an author on a publication for which you made little or no material contribution
Inadequate acknowledgement – failure to appropriately recognize the contributions of others
Mismanagement of COI – failure to manage COI in accordance with UoG COI policies

7. Breaches by Researchers…
Misrepresentation in an application or related document
Mismanagement of funds
Breaches of other policies for certain types of research
Breach of Agency review processes
Breach of Agency review processes: non-compliance with COI and Confidentiality policy of Federal research funding organizations or participating in a review
process while under investigation.

8. Frequency of Types of Breaches associated with Tri-Agency Funds (2011-2017)
The Tri-Agencies released (in December 2017) their first summary of every confirmed allegation of research misconduct involving Tri-Agency funds (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR) between Dec. 5, 2011 and March 31, 2017.
83 confirmed breaches of research misconduct.
We see the type of breach on the vertical axis and the frequency of the confirmed breach (shown in percentage of total confirmed breaches) on the horizontal axis.
The majority of breaches involved faculty members but graduate students were involved in some cases and in a few cases a PDF or staff member were involved.
We note that:
Plagiarism in the most frequent type of breach followed by mismanagement of Tri-Agency funds and then misrepresentation in research applications and documents.
Does this reported data surprise you or is it what you expected?
Percent of total confirmed breaches (%)

9. Range of Recourse Imposed on Breaches associated with Tri-Agency Funds 2011-2017
Institution
Retract articles/correct publications
Letter of reprimand
Apologize
Sued researcher for recovery of grant funds
Closed researcher’s lab
Revoke thesis and graduate degree
Expelled student (various duration up to no possibility of readmission)
Terminated researcher’s employment
Notified police
Tri-Agency
Letter of reprimand to researcher and/or institution
Cancelled researcher’s grants/terminated student award
Researcher ineligible to participant in Tri-Agency peer view processes (up to permanently)
Researcher ineligible to apply for Tri-Agency funding (1 year to permanently)
Reimburse funds
Seem to be that the more deliberate the breach, the more serious the consequences e.g., if the research misconduct was deliberate rather that coming from a place of not knowing appropriate procedures/policy/practices etc.
Notes on recourse:
-Revoke thesis and graduate degree – the student deliberately falsified data
-Deliberate mismanagement of funds (intentionally misused $150K-200K, claiming personal items and person travel): Terminated researcher’s employment and Agency informed researcher they were permanently ineligible to apply for Agency funds or participate in their peer review process
-In another case where a researcher’s employment was terminated and their lab closed, the researcher falsified a letter of support from an industrial partner in a grant application and also kept high risk pathogens in his/her lab without the consent of the institution and without the proper facilities to handle them
The Tri-Agencies plan to publish all cases of research misconduct in Canada involving Tri-Agency Funds every three years.
The breaches are disclosed in an anonymous format, in keeping with provincial and federal privacy legislation.

10. Responsibilities of Institutions
Have an institutional responsible conduct of research policy that applies to ALL research conducted under the auspices of the institution
Post confirmed findings of breaches on web site annually
Promote responsible conduct of research

11. Training – CITI Program Courses
Online courses.
Free of charge to all members of the University community with a valid University of Guelph account, including faculty, students and staff.
Course completion is documented by a completion certificate.
Course subjects include:
Drugs for Clinical Trials Involving Human Subjects
Good Clinical Practice 
Human Subjects Research
Information Privacy and Security
Responsible Conduct of Research
Transportation of Dangerous Goods/International Air Transport Association
 Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) is an online education program.
UofG launched on Dec 11, 2017

12. UoG’s RCR Policy
Includes:
Definitions of researchers’ responsibilities and research misconduct
Process for dealing with allegations of research misconduct
Actions to be taken on substantiated allegations
Examples of recourse on substantiated allegations
Appeal process
Reporting to external bodies
Process for dealing with allegations of research misconduct – include who to report to, how to report, actions to be taken by University officials
Reporting to external bodies – We have obligations to report to the Tri-Agencies on each investigation conducted in response to an allegation related to a research involving Tri-Agency funds, and an obligation to report to US ORI on any allegations involving funding from a long list of US sponsors such as NIH, NSF, etc.

13. Case Studies
Let’s examine and discuss public cases of research misconduct to get a better understanding of what can go wrong and the need for such policies
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Character is higher than intellect. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Hand out the UoG RCR procedures flow chart and tell the group that we’ll be referencing the policy/procedures during our discussion of the case studies.

14. Contact
Central Point of Contact for RCR: John Livernois Associate Vice-President Research Services Ext: 56904