Training and support resources
Research integrity training and resources.
General training resources
Key University of Edinburgh training resources
| Research Ethics and Integrity - an introduction | This Institute of Academic Development (IAD) online course is designed to help postgraduate research students understand the core principals of research ethics and integrity. |
| Global Research Ethics and Integrity course (EASE Login Required) |
This older online resource, was a joint project of members of Universitas 21, an international network of universities in 12 countries, which aimed to engage postgraduate students in considerations of ethical issues in a global context. |
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Compulsory supervisor briefings |
These are run by Colleges and Schools in partnership with IAD. |
External online training courses
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The Medical Research Council's e-learning material include self-guided courses covering research data and confidentiality and research and human tissue legislation assessment (separate courses for Scotland and the Rest of UK). To use the materials for the first time you need to set up an account. |
| Future Learn Mooc: Academic Integrity: Values, Skills, Action - The University of Auckland |
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Responsible Innovation, Safety and Technology on the edX MOOC platform Free course offered by University of Delft (English language) - you will need to visit the site to see the next course start date website. |
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Introduction to Bioethics on edX MOOC platform Free course offered by Georgetown University - website will state future MOOC course start dates. |
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European Network of Research Ethics Committees Training and resources in research ethics evaluation - material drawn from several countries and so is available in English, French, German, Portuguese and Polish. The training is modular. It includes an introduction to research ethics (module 1), a module on the role and responsibilities of Research Ethics Committees (module 2.1), several modules on the national regulation in given countries from the North and the South (module 3) and a detailed module on informed consent (module 4). |
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USA Office of Research Integrity Part of the USA Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Office for Research Integrity is responsible for developing policies and procedures for the detection and prevention of research misconduct. The Office of Research Integrity also provides material intended to assist Institutions to promote good practice in terms of research conduct and the handling of misconduct. They have some useful infographics and case study videos that may help as a starting point for schools wishing to develop discipline-specific training material. The training material is not orientated toward Medical and Health Research and is worth reviewing although one or two of the infographics are specifically for a USA audience. |
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Association of Research Managers and Administrators The Association of Research Managers and Administrators website include material resources of the former Association for Research Ethics. The majority of the ARMA resources are available to members of ARMA only. Please discuss with your School or College Research Office regarding access. |
Training resources by theme
Collaboration
Research collaborations can be within the University and across institutions both nationally and internationally, but also with external parties such as industry. Integrity considerations include conflicts of interest, intellectual property rights, and differences in good research practice.
Edinburgh Innovations support University staff and students in intellectual property management, industry engagement and company formation activities.
| Effective Collaborations workshop | This workshop is aimed at researchers new to or thinking of establishing a collaborative project. Provided by the Institute of Academic Development (IAD). |
| University Policy on Conflict of Interest | Policy document. |
| Effective collaboration workshop | IAD workshop for staff. |
| External resources | |
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Montreal Statement on Research Integrity in Cross-Boundary Research Collaborations |
World Conferences on Research Integrity. |
| Field Guide to Collaboration Team Science | U.S Department of Health & Human Services - National Institutes of Health. |
| Sample Partnering Agreement Template | National Institutes of Health - Office of the Ombudsman. |
| The Dowling Review for inter-sectoral collaborations | The Dowling Review of Business-University Research Collaborations. |
Data Management
Good data management in research is essential to ensure that research outputs are stored securely beyond the life of the project and is shared responsibly with others, increasing transparency of research and reproducibility. Increasingly, journals and funding bodies require data to be made publicly available, requiring further consideration of data protection and sensitive data management.
The University provides extensive support on all aspect of data management through the Research Data Service.
| Research Data Mantra |
MANTRA is a free, non-credit, self-paced course designed for postgraduate students and early career researchers which provides guidelines for good practice in research data management. |
| Data Protection Training | Records Management signpost to Data protection training, that is available for all staff through Learn. |
| Information Services: Data Training and Support | A range of training programmes on research data and research data management from Information Services. |
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is creating the impression that something is your own idea or your own work when it is not.
It includes “the act of copying or including in one’s own work, without adequate acknowledgement, intentionally or unintentionally, the work of another or your own previously assessed original work” – Academic Services.
Collusion is also a form of plagiarism.
Further guidance is available from Academic Services.
| Referencing and avoiding plagiarism | UoE Guidance for undergraduate students. |
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Citing sources and creating bibliographies with Mendeley/Zotero/Endnote Web |
IAD online workshop on using the web-based version of Endnote. |
| Managing a Bibliography in Endnote | IAD workshop for PhD students. |
| Searching research literature and managing bibliographies (CAHSS) | IAD workshop for CAHSS PhD students. |
| Anti-plagiarism video by UoE staff and students | |
| Plagiarism prevention and detection using Turnitin | Information Services resource. |
| External resources | |
| Plagiarism.org | External training resource. |
| Cite them right online | External training resource (EASE Login required). |
Publications and peer review
The Scholarly Communications Team supports the deposit of new research outputs to PURE, electronic theses and dissertations, as well as making research outputs open access.
They provide guidance, as well as Help and Support via the team’s Helpdesk and a consultancy service.
| Publishing your research information & copyright | Information Services resource. |
| Innovations in Scholarly Communications | Information Services resource. |
| Predatory Publishing | Information Services resource. |
| Think. Check. Submit. (help in avoiding bogus journals) | External resource. |
| Copyright | Information Services resource. |
| University research publications policy | |
| University policy on conflict of interest | Available on HR A-Z Policies page. |
| Publishing and open access workshop | IAD workshop for staff. |
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How to Peer Review Manuscripts For journals Workshop |
IAD workshop for PhD students. |
| Collaborative Writing and Publishing (all staff) | IAD workshop for all staff. |
Public engagement
Depending on the nature of the public engagement, ethical issues may not be picked up during the usual research ethics review process, so separate consideration of the ethics of engagement activities may be required. Issues raised can range from basic public safety, to making sure that public partners are not inadvertently taken advantage of in terms of their time or money.
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An Introduction to Public Engagement |
IAD workshop for PhD students. |
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How to Design a Public Engagement Process |
IAD workshop for PhD students. |
| Ethics of using social media data (EASE Login Required) |
PowerPoint by Nicola Osborne EDINA. |
| Centre for research on families and relationships resource. | |
| General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) | Guidance from Records Management. |
| Summary of University's legal liability insurance cover | |
| External resources | |
| Centre for Social Justice and Community Action - Durham University. | |
| mygov.scot | |
| NIHR | Involve Guidance on payment and recognition for public involvement | INVOLVE: NHS National Institute for Health Research. |
| INVOLVE: NHS National Institute for Health Research. | |
| BBC Guidance on Working with Vulnerable Contributors | BBC |
Social Responsibility and Sustainability: Modern Slavery
The University of Edinburgh is committed to protecting and respecting human rights and has a zero-tolerance approach to slavery and human trafficking in all its forms. The University has published a Modern Slavery Statement pursuant to Section 54, Part 6 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which sets out the steps the University has taken and will take in relation to slavery and human trafficking.
The University of Edinburgh Modern Slavery Statement
The University also offers online training in understanding and spotting the risks of Modern Slavery:
Instructions for access to UoE training for staff and students
Statistics and experimental design
Using statistics and designing experiments appropriately is at the heart of research integrity, ensuring research is reliable and reproducible. Using statistical analyses incorrectly can lead to false conclusions or exaggerating importance and representativeness of research. As statistics and experimental design is highly subject specific, we recommend you speak to supervisors or line managers for appropriate training requirements and opportunities. Individual Schools may also offer statistical support, but are not listed here.
| Information Services: Statistical Computing | |
| University of Edinburgh Q-Step Centre | |
| University of Edinburgh MOOC: Statistics - Unlocking the World of Data | |
| The Coding Club | A student-led initiative for statistical and programming support. |
| External resources | |
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LinkedIn Learning: Statistics foundations Level 1 |
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