{"id":28357,"date":"2022-09-21T11:10:43","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T11:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=24657"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:13:15","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:13:15","slug":"an-integral-part-of-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/an-integral-part-of-research\/","title":{"rendered":"An integral part of research"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The theme for this year\u2019s Peer Review Week is \u2018research integrity\u2019 \u2013 that really strikes a chord with our new columnists\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As we mark peer review week \u2013 it\u2019s good to take time to reflect on how pivotal the process is in maintaining the quality of research.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme, Research Integrity: creating and supporting trust in research<\/em>, is particularly important for Cancer Research UK. Last year we deepened our commitment to good research practice by becoming a signatory of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity. Not only that \u2013 along with UK Research and Innovation and GuildHE, we are part of a consortium of organisations considering if potential indicators of research integrity will be useful<\/a> to ensure integrity across different labs and groups.<\/p>\n

We take research integrity seriously\u2026 as we should. It is the cornerstone of good science. For the cancer research community this is important, not just because conducting research according to the highest standards is the \u2018right\u2019 thing to do, but because it is the most effective way to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.<\/p>\n

In-house expertise<\/h2>\n

And it\u2019s been pleasing to see that some of our institutes have gone further still in their commitment to this by appointing dedicated research integrity advisers to not only uphold standards, but also facilitate training and guidance.<\/p>\n

Dr Catherine Winchester, Senior Research Adviser at the CRUK Beatson Institute. Keep an eye-out for her new column with us on all things research integrity.<\/p>

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Dr Catherine Winchester is Senior Research Adviser at the CRUK Beatson Institute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Dr Catherine Winchester, Senior Research Adviser at the CRUK Beatson Institute in Glasgow, explains: \u201cI try to instil integrity principles throughout the whole research cycle. At the Beatson we help researchers really think about designing experiments, how they\u2019re going to organise and curate data right through to pre-submission manuscript review.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s this checking of manuscripts that is an incredibly useful way to ensure research meets standards. Data is checked, graphs are pored over, and figures scrutinised, says Winchester. \u201cI read manuscripts for clarity, and I\u2019m very picky about people\u2019s descriptions in figure legends. I really encourage people to go beyond basic data information and try to drill down into what those data are,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She is keen, however, to point out that despite the wide remit, there is one thing they definitely don\u2019t do. \u201cOur roles aren\u2019t about policing,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not about having a little black book and noting everything down \u2013 it\u2019s about supporting and being advocates for good research practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of scientists I meet and interact with are absolutely not falsifying their data, a lot of the issues arise from simple mistakes,\u201d she points out. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to target by making sure people are trained properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Andrew Porter, Research Integrity and Training Adviser at the CRUK Manchester Institute. Keep an eye-out for Andrew and Catherine\u2019s upcoming column with us on all things research integrity.<\/p>

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Dr Andrew Porter is Research Integrity and Training Adviser at the CRUK Manchester Institute. Keep an eye-out for Andrew and Catherine\u2019s upcoming column with us on all things research integrity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Dr Andrew Porter, Research Integrity and Training Adviser at the CRUK Manchester Institute \u2013 part of the University of Manchester \u2013 agrees. \u201cI think people hear \u2018research integrity\u2019 and in their minds they go straight to research misconduct. So that\u2019s the bad practices of research \u2013 fabrication, falsification, plagiarism\u2026 and there\u2019s lots written in the research integrity field about why people do that, and how we can prevent it,\u201d he says. \u201cBut actually, scientists often just need support to do what they want to do well. Most researchers want to operate in a way which is ethical and fits their own moral code and their own sense of who they want to be in science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping up with integrity<\/h2>\n

There is an ever-growing awareness of the issues around research integrity in the cancer research community, and it is an area where thinking can advance at pace.<\/p>\n

Indeed, it has rapidly developed into a field in its own right \u2013 complete with its own societies, journals and conferences. Study and debate on the \u2018metascience\u2019 of how we best conduct and report science means we all need to be open to changes in best practice. But when pressures on researchers in all other aspects of their careers is also high \u2013 these changes might not always be top-of-mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically there has always been the feeling that science is self-correcting,\u201d says Porter. \u201cThe idea that it\u2019s all right if mistakes happen, because other people will find out if something was done in a way that wasn\u2019t quite right, and the next person who tries to do it will correct for that. But I think that link is broken, because there isn\u2019t enough time for people to repeat other people\u2019s experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n

For that reason, we are really pleased to let you know that both Catherine and Andrew will be writing a regular column for us sharing their experiences from the front line of research integrity. Their expertise really will give us an incredible view of the latest processes and thinking around research integrity, and, importantly, how to go about implementing them to your own work.<\/p>\n

Keep your eyes peeled on this blog, and our email and social channels over the coming months to catch the first instalments as we help you to be the best scientists you can be.<\/p>\n

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As a signatory to the Concordat to support research integrity, CRUK is committed to:<\/p>\n

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  1. Upholding the highest standards of rigour and integrity in all aspects of research; both the research itself and any resulting publications.<\/li>\n
  2. Ensuring that research is conducted according to appropriate ethical, legal and professional frameworks, obligations and standards.<\/li>\n
  3. Supporting a research environment that is underpinned by a culture of integrity and based on good governance, best practice and support for the development of researchers.<\/li>\n
  4. Using transparent, timely, robust and fair processes to deal with allegations of research misconduct should they arise.<\/li>\n
  5. Working together to strengthen the integrity of research and to review progress regularly and openly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

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    The theme for this year\u2019s Peer Review Week is \u2018research integrity\u2019 \u2013 that really strikes a chord with our new columnists\u2026 As we mark peer review week \u2013 it\u2019s good to take time to reflect on how pivotal the process is in maintaining the quality of research. This year\u2019s theme, Research Integrity: creating and supporting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44846,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28357\/revisions\/44846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}