What is research integrity?

Citation: Ní Bhroin, N. & Staksrud, E. (2022). What is research integrity? An annotated bibliography and guided reading list. CO:RE – Children Online: Research and Evidence.

Allen, Louisa (2015) Losing face? Photo-anonymisation and visual research integrity, Visual Studies, 30:3, 295-308.

In this article Louisa Allen troubles what she calls the conflation of photo-anonymisation with research ethical practice, a view that has been promoted by institutional ethics review boards. She questions how the anonymisation of photographs effects the integrity of visual research and the generation of new knowledge. Allen draws on her experience of school-based research exploring sexuality with young people. She argues that anonymisation techniques such as photo-cropping, facial blurring and pixelation may be counterproductive and fail to protect their participants from harm. 

Gierth, L., & Bromme, R. (2020). Attacking science on social media: How user comments affect perceived trustworthiness and credibility. Public Understanding of Science, 29(2), 230–247.  

In this article Gierth and Bromme discuss how science communicators can experience problems when disseminating information about controversial topics in social media. Based on two exploratory studies of communication around controversial topics (homeopathy, genetically modified organisms, refugee crime and childhood vaccinations) they find that users attacked claims based on thematic complexity, employed research methods and/or the expertise or motivations of the scientists. They also find that prior attitudes determined judgements about user comments, attacked claims and the source of the claim.

Haven, T., Gopalakrishna, G., Tijdink, J., van der Schot, D., & Bouter, L. (2022). Promoting trust in research and researchers: How open science and research integrity are intertwined. BMC Research Notes, 15(1), [302].
In this article the authors present and discuss the relationship between concepts such as responsible research practices, transparency and open science. They indicate that although these concepts are similar, they actually have a different focus. Responsible research focuses on the need for a more rigorous conduct of research, transparency is predominantly concerned with the reporting of research and open science is mostly about dissemination. It is important that researchers and research organisations who work with these concepts make research possible, easy, normative and rewarding. The authors provide suggestions for how a culture of integrity can be promoted around these concepts. 

Horbach, S. P. J. M., Bouter, L. M., Gaskell, G., Hiney, M., Kavouras, P., Mejlgaard, N., Allum, N., Aubert Bonn, N., Bendtsen, A-K., Charitidis, C. A., Claesen, N., Dierickx, K., Domaradzka, A., Elizondo, A. R., Föger, N., Kaltenbrunner, W., Konach, T., Labib, K., Marušić, A., ... Tijdink, J. K. (2022). Designing and implementing a research integrity promotion plan: Recommendations for research funders. PloS Biology, 20(8), e3001773. [e3001773]. 

In this article the authors propose a Research Integrity Promotion Plan (RIPP) for research funding organisations. This plan is based on 6 core topics that the authors have found to be relevant through a range of examples reviewed. The authors submit that these 6 core topics will guide funders towards strengthening research integrity policy in their organisations and in turn guide the researchers and research organisations that they fund.

Hofmann, B., & Holm, S. (2019). Research integrity: environment, experience, or ethos? Research Ethics, 15(3–4), 1–13. 
Hofmann and Holm investigate knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to research integrity amongst researchers that have recently finished their PhD. They also compare how these have developed during the course of the PhD fellowship. They find that researchers’ attitudes relate to the experiences of their immediate research environment. They also find that many PhDs knew about serious forms of scientific misconduct in their research environment and some also reported to have engaged in misconduct themselves. In some cases students experienced pressure to engage in misconduct. Many students also experienced unethical pressure with respect to authorship during their fellowship. They consider that scientific misconduct seems to be an environmental issue. 

Oreskes, N. (2019). Why Trust Science? Princeton University Press

In this book Naomi Oreskes traces the history and philosophy of science from the late nineteenth century onwards. She indicates how the trustworthiness of scientific claims derives from the social processes by which they have been vetted. While this process is not perfect, and introduces and enhances a healthy scepticism towards the outcomes of scientific research, it also helps to provide vital lessons from cases where scientists have gotten something wrong. Oreskes argues that the social character of scientific knowledge is the greatest reason why we can trust science.

Spencer, G. (2021), "Introduction: Ethics and Integrity in Research with Children and Young People", Spencer, G. (Ed.) Ethics and Integrity in Research with Children and Young People (Advances in Research Ethics and Integrity, Vol. 7), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 1-9. 

In this introductory chapter the author and volume editor highlights issues of research ethics and integrity that arise in research with children and young people. She indicates that children and young people are more involved in research as efforts to inform policy and practice that is relevant for their lives are enhanced. However in spite of this, children’s participation in research continues to be mediated by adult gatekeepers including parents, carers and teachers who make decisions on their behalf. Furthermore, involving children and young people presents a range of ethical complexities and sensitivities. She argues that methodological developments are required to enhance the opportunities that children and young people have to participate in research in their own right. In particular, she focuses on the need for ethical review boards to take account of how children and young people view research ethics and related processes. Such developments are necessary to support children and young people in meaningful and ethical engagement with research.

Zwart, H. (2017). Tales of Research Misconduct: A Lacanian Diagnostics of Integrity Challenges in Science Novels. Cham: Springer Open.

In this book, Zwart reviews a series of scientific novels that highlight challenges of research integrity. The background for his work is an increase in cases of fabrication, falsification and plagiarising research in the scientific and public domains. By focusing on the topic of scientific misconduct in novels he highlights some of the reasons that scientists are exposed to temptations that ultimately lead to their engagement in breaches of research integrity.

All of the resources referenced in our reading lists are also included in our Zotero library.