Code of Good Practice in Research Programme 2023-24

This is an archive of monthly activities for the university’s good research practice campaign that ran throughout 2023-2024. This was a rolling programme, developed by the Research Governance and Integrity Team, to raise awareness and explore key themes in the Code of Good Practice in Research

If you have any comments or feedback about the good research practice programme, please contact the Research Governance and Integrity team: research-integrity@gla.ac.uk 

June 2024 - Responsible Research Metrics

JUNE 2024: RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH METRICS

For the closing theme in 2023-24, we're promoting the responsible use of research metrics. Research metrics are indicators used to evaluate research including: research outputs, PGR supervision, and recruitment. The university's commitment to responsible use of research metrics is covered by the ; the UofG statement on responsible research metrics; and the UofG DORA Case Study.

This month we have a live Q&A hosted by the College Librarian (Scholarly Communications) about bibliometrics (the use of citation tools to explore the impact and engagement of academic publications) and a range of resources about the use of research metrics in the HE sector.

May 2024 - Research Integrity

MAY 2024: RESEARCH INTEGRITY

For the penultimate theme in our programme for 2023-24, the Research Governance & Integrity Team are bringing the focus to the topic of research integrity and the support and advice available to staff and PGRs at the university. 

As a research-led institution, the University of Glasgow is committed to providing an environment that ensures our research is conducted to the highest quality standards. Central to this commitment is the development of an environment that recognises and supports research excellence. When embarking on a new research collaboration or taking on new staff or students it is important to ensure that everyone has the same expectations for good research practice. The Code of Good Practice in Research is our key reference document for Research Integrity at UofG, and is relevant for all research students, research staff and visiting researchers at the university. 

Research Integrity at UofG 

  • Explore our 
  • Access our  (mandatory for PGRs and a wide range of staff) 
  • Browse the curated resources in the  (includes peer- review, publication, avoiding plagiarism and more!) 
  • Download our User Guide on Authorship and CRediT: find out about good authorship practice and how to use CRediT 
  • Research Integrity and Research Culture:  at UofG  
  • UKRIO Webinar Series: an excellent range of videos covering specialist topics, includes sessions from UofG staff 

Support for Breaches in Good Research Practice 

The Code of Good Practice in Research has a section on Poor Research Practice and Research Misconduct that covers the scope of what the university can take up on your behalf.  

For any concerns about a potential breach in good research practice, for example bad authorship practice, or concerns about data, HARKing etc we recommend that staff and PGRs seek support. Informal enquiries can be made to the local Research Integrity Advisers in each School, or your College Research Integrity Champion. If for any reason this is not appropriate, you can contact Amanda McKenna, Research Integrity Adviser (Research Misconduct) amanda.mckenna@gla.ac.uk or the central Research Integrity Team directly at research-integrity@gla.ac.uk All of the above will be treated in confidence.  

April 2024 - Research Culture

APRIL 2024: RESEARCH CULTURE  

A 'research culture' is the collective result of the way we think and feel and act. 

Our Culture is created by the choices we make and the way we behave towards each other, within our research institutions. It is also a product of how we engage and interact with others in our global research fields, interpersonally, or through the research discoveries and outputs we produce. Our Research Culture is strongly driven by the way we define, support, evaluate and reward success in research, and who we recognise as having contributed to that success. 

For the programme this month, the Research Culture Team are sharing updates on Research Culture at the University of Glasgow. Below are events and initiatives for all members of the research community. 

March 2024 - Collaboration

MARCH 2024: COLLABORATION 

"Collaboration" is one of the three major themes in the university's Research Strategy which recognises the value in combining diverse perspectives to solve big problems. 

Our Code of Good Practice in Research has the simple instruction that hides complexity: "Researchers should ensure that collaborators are also made aware of their obligations where relevant to the project". Further complexity comes from consideration of the wider ethics of collaboration: addressing power imbalance and ensuring all can contribute and benefit from the activity. 

Successful collaboration rarely happens by chance: anticipating the challenges and deploying strategies for success are crucial steps. This month we share some resources but also request you to share your experiences so we can crowd-source our own collection of wisdom and tips...

For the programme this month, we will be at the Research Staff Assembly and have a range of useful resources to share: 

February 2024 - Sustainability

FEBRUARY 2024: SUSTAINABILITY

The University declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has published a Climate Change Strategy that commits us to being net zero for greenhouse gas for the next 10 years, in line with UN Environment Programme recommendations. The Code of Good Practice in Research asks the research community to consider the wider environmental impact of their activities - staff can use the University of Glasgow Carbon Footprint Tool to determine the carbon footprint of either a research project or group. 

The Centre for Sustainable Solutions are hosting the Sustainability theme for February, with a great line-up of activities and resources below:

  • Join us!  The Centre for Sustainable Solutions hosts a regular Networking Meeting which brings together anyone working at the University whose remit (or just personal interest) is Sustainability.  Our next meeting takes place for an hour on Thursday 29 February at 10.30am, in room 237A of the ARC.  We will give an overview of the Centre’s current activity and then we will hear from Rory Porteous, Sustainable Lab Adviser on the S-Labs project.  Please email Nicola.smock@glasgow.ac.uk if you’d like to join the meeting. 
  • Take 5: Watch our Centre for Sustainable Solutions film  
  • You might also want to take one of our courses

Contact us:  The Centre for Sustainable Solutions is making new connections every day and we are keen to enable everyone at the University of Glasgow to act toward a sustainable and just future. If you’d like to find out more, or just want to get in touch, please contact us at sustainable-solutions@glasgow.ac.uk

January 2024 - Trusted Research

JANUARY 2024: TRUSTED RESEARCH

Our Code of Good Practice in Research emphasises the importance of governance and compliance as well as more practical advice. Some governance, such as ethics, is directly linked to the quality of the research. Other governance requirements – such as Trusted Research, this month’s theme – address different concerns, in this case national security and international collaborations. There is complex legislation – specifically “Export Controls” and the “National Security and Investment Act” - that we need to comply with. Awareness is essential for anyone working in STEM as concerns are primarily with technology or any research that could potentially have a dual purpose (e.g. viruses or pathogens).  

Particularly relevant for COSE and parts of MVLS, we encourage you to:

  • Concerned about the implications of this for researchers? Join us for an online discussion with Professor Andy Wright (COSE Professor in Practice) about managing the challenges and the funder perspective: Wed 17th Jan, 1-2pm. More information and booking here (UofG login needed).
  • Confused about Export Controls? Bring your questions to discuss at our monthly drop-in online Trusted Research Q&A: Thur 18th Jan, 12-1pm. Find the Zoom link in the Moodle course above.

Contact the team: contact us on compliance-support@gla.ac.uk with your questions or to assess planned activities. We are the Research Governance and Integrity team.

 

December 2023 - Open Research

DECEMBER 2023

This month we're handing over to the Research Information Management Team who are promoting open research

The Research Information Management team can offer advice and support on all aspects of open research. The main areas in which researchers seek our advice are research data management and open access for publications and other research outputs, but we’re also happy to offer guidance on open research activity at any other point in the research lifecycle – for instance, sharing protocols or pre-registering your research.

We’d encourage you to take some time this month to refresh or expand your understanding of open research practices in your area – are there any simple steps you can take to make your research more transparent, accountable or reproducible?

  • Join us! An Open Research Q&A session on Thursday 14 December 12-1.30pm open to all staff and PGRs: please post your questions on the Padlet or on the sign-up form
  • Take 5: consider how you could take some simple steps while you’re setting up a research project to ensure that your research can be shared as widely as possible. Our project initiation workflow illustrates how you can ‘bake in’ data sharing and openness into your project if you plan for it in advance.

Contact the team: if you have any questions about open research, you can contact the Research Information Management team at research-datamanagement@glasgow.ac.uk. If you’d like advice on open access for publications, or if you’ve had a publication accepted, please email research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk.

 

November 2023 - Authorship

NOVEMBER 2023

This month we are promoting good authorship practice as part of the wider Good Research Practice campaign. Our team handles authorship queries, and the occasional authorship misconduct case, so we are acutely aware that [a] it’s not always an easy topic to navigate, [b] practice does not always match expectations and [c] sharing of good practice is extremely helpful!  

During this month, we’ll be getting your views and developing support via our draft Authorship and CRediT guidance.  

We’d encourage you to take a little time this month to refresh or expand your understanding of negotiating authorship, perhaps also to reflect on whether your subject area has its own approaches (Physics!) and how well they are working.  

  • Join us! An Authorship Q&A webinar Wednesday 22nd November, 12-1.30pm open to all staff and PGRs: please post your questions on the Padlet or on the sign-up form. 
  • Take 5: we cover Authorship in a short module within the Staff Research Integrity training. You can review this here if you’ve not got time for the full course (or if you’re a PGR who has completed the PGR training) 
  • The longer read: Is it time for a major change? This recent LERU paper is one of many endorsements for a “movie credits” approach rather than the current system.  

A reminder too that if you have an issue with authorship, you can contact your Research Integrity Champion or Adviser, or our central team on research-integrity@gla.ac.uk, for an informal and confidential discussion in the first instance and we can support you if further action is necessary. 

 

October 2023 - Introduction

OCTOBER 2023

In October, we launch the Good Practice activities for 2023-2024 to support the revised Code of Good Practice in Research and explore some of the content in more depth.

Watch the 2min video where we explain what a “Code” is meant to do and urge you to “Read it, discuss it, share it":

Introduction Video - Code of Good Practice in Research

Share your view: one Code of Practice for all subject areas is ambitious - help us capture the complexity and richness of our research community by leaving a quick response on our Padlet: "What does 'good practice in research' look like for you/your discipline?" You might want to flag up your particular passion or concern or highlight a specific case study? Or just comment or "like" someone else's response. Is there anything missing from the Code? You can note that too!” Padlet: "Good Practice in Research" (padlet.com)