Presented by Dr Ben Pitcher, Integrity Officer, Macquarie University, as part of the annual update for the Supervision Enhancement Program.

1. A GUIDE FOR HDR SUPERVISORS
Research Integrity
Dr Ben Pitcher
Research Integrity Officer
ben.pitcher@mq.edu.au

2. Today’s session
2RESEARCH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY I RESEARCH OFFICE
• An introduction to the Research Integrity Office
• A quick look at policy and guidelines
• Some examples of cases involving HDR candidates
and supervisors
• Suggestions for good research practice based on
our experiences
• Discussion of your experiences with research
integrity

3. What would you do?
3RESEARCH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY I RESEARCH OFFICE
• Michael is supervising a candidate who is conducting
research abroad.
• The candidate is not a native English speaker and has
needed extensive assistance with writing in the past.
• The candidate is sending results and draft chapters back to
Michael.
• Michael notices that the standard of writing has improved
dramatically.
• What should Michael do?

4. The Research Integrity Team
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RESEARCH INTEGRITY OFFICE (BEN PITCHER & MARGAUX LE GUAY):
Research.Integrity@mq.edu.au
X 1031
DIRECTOR, RESEARCH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY (KANDY WHITE):
Karolyn.White@mq.edu.au
X 7854
PROF LESLEY HUGHES,
PRO-VICE CHANCELLOR (RESEARCH INTEGRITY AND DEVELOPMENT)
WEB:
WWW.RESEARCH.MQ.EDU.AU/RESEARCH_INTEGRITY
RESEARCH OFFICE I RESEARCH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

5. What do we do?
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EDUCATION:
• For all research staff and students
• Web-based content
• Face-to-face sessions
• Supervisor training
INVESTIGATION:
• Preliminary investigation of allegations
• Coordinate further investigation
• Report to the DVCR
The Research Integrity Team
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6. The policy framework

7. The Australian Code
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FOR THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH
• Endorsed by NHMRC, ARC and
Universities Australia in 2007
• Why is it important?
 Promote research integrity
 Describes best practice in
research for researchers and
institutions
 Compliance is a requisite for
NHMRC and ARC funding
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8. The Macquarie Code
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Available on Policy Central
http://mq.edu.au/policy/category.html#research
MAIN TOPICS ADDRESSED:
• General principles of responsible research
• Management of research data and primary materials
• Supervision of research trainees
• Publication and dissemination of research findings
• Authorship
• Peer Review
• Conflicts of Interest
• Collaborative research across institutions
FOR THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH
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9. Research Misconduct
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BREACHES:
Unintentional failures to comply with principles or specific policies
RESEARCH MISCONDUCT:
Breaches of principles or policies that are intentional, reckless or grossly
& persistently negligent, e.g.
• Fabrication or falsification of data or results
• Plagiarism
• Failure to manage risks to humans, animals or environment or obtain
& maintain appropriate ethical approval
• Misleading ascription of authorship
• Non-disclosure of conflicts of interest
AND BREACHES OF THE CODE
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10. Research Integrity
10RESEARCH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY I RESEARCH OFFICE
THE MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY CODE FOR THE
RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH
• Sets out the standards expected of our researchers
• http://mq.edu.au/policy/category.html#research
• DOES NOT differentiate between HDR candidates and staff
HDR CANDIDATES
The Changing PhD, Discussion Paper, March 2013, The Group of Eight

11. HDR Candidates as Researchers
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DO THE PRIORITIES OF CANDIDATES AND THE
UNIVERSITY MESH?
• The value of HDR research vs training
WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
• Plagiarism
• Fabrication / falsification
• Compliance with legislation / policy
• Contract cheating…

12. The Fraud Triangle
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http://www.organizingcreativity.com/2014/08/using-the-fraud-triangle-to-explain-scientific-misconduct/
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13. Some HDR cases

14. Authorship
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• Five cases involving authorship in 18 months
• All cases involve research students
• Two cases where HDR candidates were removed from papers
• Two cases where supervisors allegedly used candidate’s work without
appropriate attribution
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15. To be an author you must make a substantial contribution to a combination of:
1. Conceiving or designing the project,
2. Analysing and interpreting the data,
3. Writing or critically revising the intellectual content of the output.
AND
• Give final agreement to the version to be published
Authorship
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• Getting funding, collecting data, giving technical assistance or
materials don’t automatically count for authorship
• People who don’t qualify as authors should be acknowledged
• Discuss authorship and have a written record of
discussions/agreements
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16. Contract cheating
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WHAT IS IT?
• Contracting others to complete a piece of academic work
• Typically a bespoke piece of writing on a particular topic,
but may be other work, e.g. source code
• Essay mills (custom writing services - “ghostwriting”)
• Auction sites (tendering for services)
• Essay banks (pre-written essays)
WHO DOES IT?
• Largely seen as a problem amongst undergraduate students
• Emerging as a problem amongst postgraduates
• Very rare amongst research staff

17. Contract cheating
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• Three recent cases at Macquarie under investigation
• Two cases - Allegations of candidates using professional writers via online
services
• “Editorial services” or “writing coaches”
• One case - Reports of PhD candidates and/or supervisors employing
postdocs to write papers for inclusion in a thesis
• Detected by: changes in writing style, metadata in files, tipoffs
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18. Managing Your Research Group

19. Managing your research group
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LESSONS LEARNED FROM RETRACTIONS
1. Expect errors to occur
2. Have redundancy in your research team
3. Own your errors
4. Build checks into your routine
5. Plan blocks of research time
6. Know your competencies
7. Create an open culture
8. Lead investigators (supervisors) must assume full responsibility
9. If something doesn’t make sense - ask about it
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Kullgren & Carter (2015) Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology. 3:352-357

20. Tips for supervisors

21. Tips for supervisors
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• Ensure you and your candidate are familiar with the Macquarie Code
• Discuss data management and keep a copy of the data when they leave
• Talk about authorship and keep records of discussions
• Check they understand plagiarism
• Train candidates in peer review
• Discuss conflicts of interest and how to manage them
• Meet regularly with your candidates
• If things aren’t going well raise it in the Progress Reports
• Seek advice…
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22. Using Professional Editors
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GUIDELINES FOR EDITING RESEARCH THESES
• Agreement by the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) and the Deans and
Directors of Graduate Studies (DDoGS)
• http://iped-editors.org/About_editing/Editing_theses.aspx
• Supervisors will provide editorial advice relating to matters of substance
and structure; language (including matters of clarity, voice and tone,
grammar, spelling and punctuation, specialised and foreign material); and
use of illustrations and tables. They may also assist with copyediting and
proofreading.
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23. Using Professional Editors
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GUIDELINES FOR EDITING RESEARCH THESES
• Professional editing should be restricted to copyediting and proofreading
• May draw attention to problems in matters of substance and structure, but should not
provide solutions
• If used in any form, the name of the editor and a brief description of the service rendered,
should be included as part of the list of acknowledgements.
• Copyediting: grammar, spelling, capitalisation, punctuation, hyphenation and overall
correctness and consistency.
• Proofreading: verification of copy, integrity check, proofing, conformity with house style,
format
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24. Research Integrity Advisors
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• Associate Deans of Higher Degree Research and Research
• RIAs can provide advice on good research practice
 Talk about issues before they become problems
• RIAs also provide advice about reporting breaches
• If researchers have concerns:
 Talk to any RIA, not just in their faculty
 Talk in hypotheticals
 Get their help and advice in preparing a complaint
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25. Contact us
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RESEARCH INTEGRITY OFFICE (BEN PITCHER & MARGAUX LE GUAY):
Research.Integrity@mq.edu.au
X 1031
DIRECTOR, RESEARCH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY (KANDY WHITE):
Karolyn.White@mq.edu.au
X 7854
WEB:
WWW.RESEARCH.MQ.EDU.AU/RESEARCH_INTEGRITY
OR contact a Research Integrity Advisor
THE RESEARCH INTEGRITY TEAM
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