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ARC and NHMRC warn of a “lack of consistent, sector-wide data on research integrity issues”
Research integrity in Australia may be at risk, the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council have warned.
The ARC and the NHMRC announced a joint national review of the research integrity system on 23 February, saying there is a “lack of consistent, sector-wide data on research integrity issues”.
“A more complete national picture is essential to identifying trends, risks and areas for improvement.”
They are working with the vice-chancellors’ group Universities Australia on the review, which they said will work with the sector “to gather and analyse existing research integrity data”.
Consultation has “already highlighted opportunities to strengthen Australia’s research integrity framework and better meet the needs of a rapidly evolving research environment”, they said. Institutions and researchers need to build more capacity “to conduct high-quality, responsible research”.
Funding requirements
The interaction of research integrity with funding is also under review.
“The ARC and NHMRC are…working closely with institutions to ensure that funding agreement requirements and responsibilities under the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2018…are clearly understood and fully embedded in institutional policies and practices,” the statement said.
A national Partnering for Research Integrity Reform Working Group has been set up to define “the scale and nature of current issues in the research integrity system, and develop structural and policy solutions for sector or government consideration”.
The move was welcomed by the Australian Association for Interdisciplinary Metaresearch and Open Science, which said in a LinkedIn post that it agrees there is a gap in the data on research integrity issues.
The ARC and the NHMRC have been contacted for comment.