Research Integrity
Maintaining a positive research environment
A Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) Expert Panel defined research integrity as “the coherent and consistent application of values and principles essential to encouraging and achieving excellence in the search for, and dissemination of, knowledge. These values include honesty, fairness, trust, accountability, and openness.”
The core principles touch on all aspects of the research enterprise, and requires that anyone or any organization that does research, uses research or funds research must:
- conduct research in an honest search for knowledge
- foster an environment of research integrity, accountability and public trust
- know their level of competence and limitations, and act accordingly
- avoid conflicts of interest, or if they cannot be avoided, address them in an ethical manner
- use research funds responsibly
- review the work of others with integrity
- report on research in a responsible and timely fashion
- treat data with scholarly rigour
- treat everyone involved with research fairly and with respect
- acknowledge all contributors and contributions in research
- engage in the responsible training of researchers.
At Dalhousie, we take these values and principles to heart, and—with guidance from the Tri-Agency Framework and the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research—will continue to strive to maintain a positive research environment. To this end, all researchers are required to familiarize themselves with the relevant research policies and guidelines, including those concerned with conflicts of interest and scholarly misconduct.