Research Integrity
TUS is committed to the promotion of an environment which maintains the highest standards of integrity in relation to its educational mission and research activity, in line with the National Policy Statement on Ensuring Research Integrity in Ireland (Revised Edition 2024) and The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (Revised Edition 2023). These national and international policies have shaped the development of our internal policies, procedures and codes in the area of the promotion of good conduct of research, including:
TUS is committed to providing training, resources and the necessary supports required by our research community, enabling them to identify the principles and responsibilities required throughout the research process. TUS provides access to an online research integrity training package, developed by Epigeum, to ensure that this training commitment is met. The modules in this program provide a comprehensive overview of how researchers in Ireland can meet their responsibilities, setting out the key principles and practices of responsible research conduct, and guiding learners through the lifecycle of a research project.
Research Integrity Training
The new (2024) edition of Research Integrity Training delivers up-to-date, research integrity training to minimise the risk of research misconduct, increase confidence in published works, and support funding agency requirements in Ireland and Europe. This fully interactive version is comprised of the following 8 core modules;
- Good Research Conduct,
- Irresponsible Research Practices,
- Planning your research,
- Managing and recording your research,
- Data selection,
- Analysis and presentation,
- Scholarly publication,
- Professional responsibilities,
- Communication & Social Responsibility.
A further 5 specialist modules are available:
- Conflicts of Interest,
- Research involving human participants,
- The care and use of animals in research,
- Intellectual property,
- Export controls.
There is a quiz at the end of each section, with an 80% pass mark. Completion of the relevant modules, along with passing all of the quizzes, generates a Research Integrity Certificate. This course is suitable for researchers from all disciplines. Discipline-specific activities and options are embedded throughout the modules. The 5 disciplines referred to throughout the course are: Arts & Humanities, Biomedical Sciences, Natural Sciences, Engineering and Social Sciences.
The following are recommended nationally as comprising a “complete course” for researchers at different career stages:
Early-stage researchers: Core modules 1-8 (Comprehensive)
(Suitable for post-graduate researchers, research assistants and post-doctoral researchers <4 years post-PhD)
Experienced researchers: Core modules 1 and 2 (Concise)
(Suitable for academic staff, Research Fellows, Post-doctoral researchers with 4+ years’ experience post-PhD and other research staff with evidence of equivalent years of research experience, as per EU guidelines*) *Towards a European Framework for Research Careers
The specialist modules are considered optional and can be completed as standalone modules at any stage, and certificates are made available upon successful completion of each.
Access to Research Integrity Training
Access to Research Integrity Training is via the Epigeum Training platform https://courses.epigeum.com/login. To facilitate your profile set up with Epigeum, the Research Office (staff profiles) and the Graduate School (student profiles) will send your name and TUS email address to Epigeum for registration. Once you are registered, you will receive a welcome email with a once-off activation link, follow this activation link to activate your account. Please check your Junk Mail folder for this email. If you still can’t locate the email, please log a query with https://www.epigeum.com/epigeum-technical-support/
Breaches of Research Integrity – Research Misconduct
Failure to comply with good research practice violates professional responsibilities and poses a reputational risk to the University. Where the principles of good practice underpinning research integrity are not followed, a breach of Research Integrity (i.e. Research Misconduct) may arise. Research Misconduct takes many forms and can be of varying seriousness. The most serious examples of Research Misconduct are:
- Fabrication – making up results and recording or reporting them as if they were real and/or true.
- Falsification – manipulating research, materials equipment or processes, or changing or omitting data or results without justification such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
- Plagiarism – using other people’s work, results, words or ideas without giving proper credit to the original source, thus violating the rights of the original author(s) to their intellectual outputs.
TUS is committed to ensuring that all allegations of research misconduct are investigated. Procedures for the investigation of allegations of Research Misconduct are outlined in the TUS Research Integrity Policy.
Research Integrity Officer (RIO)
The RIO is responsible for receiving and acting upon allegations of misconduct in research in accordance with the TUS Research Integrity Policy. To submit an allegation of research misconduct, the necessary form must be completed (Formal Allegation of Research Misconduct) and returned to the RIO via email to ResearchIntegrity@tus.ie.