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Research integrity: nine ways to move from talk to walk

Counselling, coaches and collegiality — how institutions can share resources to promote best practice in science.
By
  1. Niels Mejlgaard

    1. Niels Mejlgaard is professor of political science at Aarhus University, Denmark.

  2. Lex M. Bouter

    1. Lex M. Bouter is professor of methodology and integrity at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

  3. George Gaskell

    1. George Gaskell is emeritus professor of social psychology and research methodology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.

  4. Panagiotis Kavouras

    1. Panagiotis Kavouras is senior researcher in the School of Chemical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

  5. Nick Allum

    1. Nick Allum is professor of research methodology at the University of Essex, Colchester, UK.

  6. Anna-Kathrine Bendtsen

    1. Anna-Kathrine Bendtsen is a research assistant in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark.

  7. Costas A. Charitidis

    1. Costas A. Charitidis is professor of materials science and engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

  8. Nik Claesen

    1. Nik Claesen is managing director of the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators, Brussels, Belgium.

  9. Kris Dierickx

    1. Kris Dierickx is professor of biomedical ethics at KU Leuven, Belgium.

  10. Anna Domaradzka

    1. Anna Domaradzka is assistant professor in the Robert Zajonc Institute for Social Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland.

  11. Andrea Reyes Elizondo

    1. Andrea Reyes Elizondo is a researcher in the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University, the Netherlands.

  12. Nicole Foeger

    1. Nicole Foeger is managing director at the Austrian Agency for Research Integrity, Vienna, Austria.

  13. Maura Hiney

    1. Maura Hiney is head of post-award and evaluation at the Health Research Board, Dublin, Ireland.

  14. Wolfgang Kaltenbrunner

    1. Wolfgang Kaltenbrunner is a researcher in the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University, the Netherlands.

  15. Krishma Labib

    1. Krishma Labib is a PhD student in the Department of Ethics, Law and Humanities at Amsterdam University Medical Centers, the Netherlands.

  16. Ana Marušić

    1. Ana Marušić is professor of anatomy at the University of Split School of Medicine, Croatia.

  17. Mads P. Sørensen

    1. Mads P. Sørensen is senior researcher in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark.

  18. Tine Ravn

    1. Tine Ravn is assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark.

  19. Rea Ščepanović

    1. Rea Ščepanović is a PhD student in the Department of Research in Biomedicine and Health at the University of Split School of Medicine, Croatia.

  20. Joeri K. Tijdink

    1. Joeri K. Tijdink is assistant professor in the Department of Ethics, Law and Humanities at Amsterdam University Medical Centers, the Netherlands.

  21. Giuseppe A. Veltri

    1. Giuseppe A. Veltri is professor of research methodology and cognitive sociology at the University of Trento, Italy.

Cartoon of researchers building a tower of blocks that spell RESEARCH' on a foundation of 9 cubes in a sandy desert.

Illustration by David Parkins

In 2018, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands began building a community of data champions across all faculties, from aerospace engineering to technology, policy and management. These champions’ role? To nudge staff and students to manage their research data better. Among other incentives, they can apply for dedicated grants to do so. Imperial College London now shuns journal-based metrics in staff assessment; it relies more on peer judgement of research quality. At Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, all staff sign the university’s code of good governance, agreeing to uphold integrity, impartiality and social responsibility, for example.

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Nature 586, 358-360 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02847-8

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