Scope
This procedure forms part of JIBC’s Integrity of Research and Scholarship Policy (the “Policy”) and should be followed and applied in relation to Promoting Integrity of Research: Responsibilities of the Researcher under the Policy. Terms are as defined in the Policy.
Procedural Guiding Principles
NOTE: This Procedure is consistent with Justice Institute of British Columbia policies and procedures and the principles of the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2016).
Responsibilities of the Researcher
The Researcher is responsible for maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethical and academic conduct in research. Researchers participating in research conducted under the auspices of, in affiliation or collaboration with the Institute, will:
1. Be familiar and comply with JIBC’s Integrity of Research and Scholarship Policy - 3403;
2. Obtain and comply fully with all necessary approved research protocols in the performance of the research, including, but not limited to, specific licenses and permits, protocol and standard operating procedure approval, ethics approval, the completion and filing of the ethics review protocol and any amendments as may be required. Before engaging in any research involving human participants, the Researcher will seek and obtain approval from the JIBC Research Ethics Board (REB) and/or, where appropriate, the REB of any other institution(s) recognized by the Tri-Agency Councils;
3. Comply with the operational and financial terms of research grants and/or contracts of the appropriate funding authorities;
4. Maintain the highest standards of honesty, integrity and ethical behaviour in all research. This includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:
a. Overseeing the planning and design of the research project and the process of acquiring, recording, examining, interpreting and storing research data;
b. Using a high level of rigour in proposing and performing research, and in obtaining, recording, analyzing, storing, reporting, and publishing data or results without fabricating or falsifying;
c. Holding regular collegial discussions involving all research personnel engaged in the project to promote awareness of and compliance with the Integrity of Research and Scholarship Policy, and to integrate the scholarly efforts of all group members;
d. Where the research project is sponsored or funded, the researcher will report research results to the sponsor or funding agency of the project, and respond to the sponsor or funding agency’s questions or concerns;
e. Keeping complete and accurate records of data, methodologies and findings, including graphs and images in a manner that will allow verification or replication of the work by others and in accordance with the applicable funding agreement, institutional policies and/or laws, regulations, and professional or disciplinary standards;
f. Retaining a complete set of all original research data (e.g., publication or dissemination of research results or report) in accordance with JIBC’s records classification system and retention schedule as defined by the B.C. Government Administrative Records Classification System (ARCS) and JIBC’s Operational Records Classification System (ORCS). Where the research project is sponsored or funded, the researcher will retain all research data associated with the project for the period of time required to comply with the sponsor or funding organization’s requirements or according to ARCS or ORCS, after the project has been completed to the satisfaction of the sponsor or funding agency, whichever is longer; and
g. Subject to the terms of a research protocol approved by the REB or a data sharing agreement, to provide access to the relevant data to members of the research team and their thesis or dissertation supervisor(s);
5. Ensure that agreements are in place with research collaborators, including students, post-doctoral fellows, research associates, co-investigators and other individuals conducting research under the auspices of, in affiliation or collaboration with JIBC concerning the ownership of data and allocation of copyright. In the absence of agreement between research collaborators, ownership and copyright will be governed by JIBC’s policies and procedures, and applicable intellectual property law;
6. Ensure that data sharing, publication and other agreements are in place among individuals and/or organizations participating in the research project, where appropriate;
7. Provide the appropriate recognition for materials, or collection of data, in any publication by:
a. Ensuring that authorship of published work includes all those who have materially contributed to, and share responsibility for, the contents of the publication;
b. Ensuring that all research publications and reports are free of plagiarism;
c. Ensuring that the authors listed were involved in the research and made significant intellectual contributions to the work, understand the conclusions, and share in the responsibility for the content and reliability of the reported data;
d. Ensuring that all authors listed have reviewed and confirmed the accuracy of the information in the manuscript or report;
e. Reference and, where applicable, obtain permission for the use of all published and unpublished work, including data, source material, methodologies, findings, graphs and images;
f. Recognizing the substantive contributions of all research collaborators including students and postdoctoral fellows; and
g. Obtaining the permission of the author before using new information, concepts or data that may emerge as a result of peer reviews or other processes.
8. Ensure that all individuals or organizations conducting or participating in research under the auspices of, in affiliation or collaboration with JIBC comply with the Institute’s Conflict of Interest and Ethical Standards Policy. All individuals or organizations must disclose any potential conflict of interest in writing, and submit this to the Dean, Office of Applied Research and Graduate Studies for review. Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to:
a. Individual conflict of interests, including, but not limited to, the researcher or member(s) of the researcher’s family having a financial or personal interest in the course or outcome of the research, or a financial, personal or collegial interest in individuals or organizations involved in the research where such interest might influence or appear to influence the researcher in their research, in the review of manuscripts and applications, or in other of the researcher’s responsibilities; and
b. Organization conflict of interests including holding stock in, being employed by, receiving an honoraria, consulting fee or gift from, or serving as a director or officer of a company involved in or affected by the research, where such interest might influence or appear to influence the researcher in their research, in the review of manuscripts and applications, or in other of the researcher’s responsibilities.
Related Policies and Procedures
- 2302 Conflict of Interest and Standards of Ethical Conduct Policy
- 3107 Intellectual Property Policy
- 3403 Integrity of Research and Scholarship Policy
- 3404 Research on Human Participants Ethics Policy