At Griffith, we’re committed to maintaining an environment that fosters responsible research
Many elements typify a responsible research culture, including honesty and integrity, respect for human research participants, animals and environment, good stewardship of the research resources and the responsible communication of results. We believe research ethics and integrity should go beyond compliance and be regarded as key in research design, conduct and reporting of results. In part, this is a response to:
- the valid expectations of the wider community, which funds and supports research activities
- our responsibilities to the human and animal participants in our work
- the professions, academia and community who will rely on the accuracy of our work.
Integrity matters
At Griffith, research integrity covers matters such as:
- the appropriate expertise of our researchers
- the training of new researchers, including research students
- adhering to ethical standards
- the appropriate disclosure and response to conflicts of interest
- the responsible management of research data
- the dissemination of the results of research
- authorship, peer review and collaborations between institutions
- response to concerns or complaints relating to research misconduct.
Responsible Conduct of Research
National Code
In 2018 the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and Universities Australia released the revised Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. This document articulates the national standards on research integrity matters to inform the responsible conduct of research.
Griffith University's Responsible Conduct of Research policy
In 2018, the University approved The Responsible Conduct of Research policy. This document is our implementation of the revised Australian Code and applies to all research at Griffith.
Aboriginal Knowledge and Intellectual Property Protocol Community Guide
This Community Guide is an adaptation of the Desert Knowledge CRC Aboriginal Knowledge and Intellectual Property Protocol.
Research integrity resource sheets
Our resource sheets cover the various components of research integrity at Griffith. You can access the full set as a PDF or download individual sheets below:
- #1 Introduction to research integrity at Griffith University (PDF 516k)
- #2 The 2018 version of the Australian Code: What's new? (PDF 751k)
- #3 Planning and conducting a project responsibly (PDF 383k)
- #4 Responsible research outputs (PDF 600k)
- #5 Responsible management of data (PDF 562k)
- #6 Collaborative research: Hints and Tips (PDF 440k)
- #7 The Responsible Supervisor (PDF 431k)
- #8 The Responsible HDR Candidate (PDF 577k)
- #9 Conflicts of interest and research (PDF 736k)
- #10 Tips for peer review (PDF 391k)
- HDR candidate authorship resource paper (PDF 194k)
- Clinical Privileging (Credentialing) (PDF 288k)
Further Resources
- Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research - 2018 (PDF)
- Revisiting: Six Years of Predatory Publishing - Scholarly Kitchen - 2018 Discussion piece
- Open access, power, and privilege - Paper (2018)
- Managing Conflicts of Interest in the Public Sector - CCC/ICAC
- Everything You Need to Know About Conflicts of Interest (Part 1) - Psychology Today - 2017 Discussion piece
- COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers - 2017 (PDF)
- COPE Research integrity Resources
- How much text recycling is okay? - Retraction Watch (2017)
- Retraction Watch database of retracted papers - In progress
Research data management
Research data is collected or created, for purposes of analysis to produce original research results. Data management involves storing, organising and sharing this data. See our data-management guides below:
Research Integrity Advisers
Griffith University has appointed a network of experienced researchers to act as a source of collegiate advisers on research integrity matters. RIAs are not involved in the conduct of investigations into allegations of breaches of the Australian Code/Griffith Code but can be a source of advice to complainants or respondents.
Human research ethics complaints
The following resource sheets for contain information for complainants and respondents:
Animal ethics complaints
Booklet 01 of our Animal Ethics Manual also details processes for responding to complaints, alleged breaches of ethical standards, or appeals against decisions.
Research Integrity Advisers
Griffith researchers can consult our Research Integrity Advisers for advice about research conduct issues.