Promoting research on research integrity in Canada

Research on research integrity is an important element in building a strong national research integrity framework. There is a lack of empirical evidence and conceptual research on research integrity in Canada. To further strengthen and develop our system of research integrity, we believe that greater support is needed to promote research on research integrity. Research on research integrity is imperative in order to gain a richer understanding of the diversity of responsible conduct of research norms, practices, education and policies from a Canadian perspective. The knowledge gained would help in the development of an evidenced-based and responsive Canadian system of research integrity.     

Disciplinary research agendas and institutional arrangements for evaluation research

An evaluation agenda for social work to strengthen the research foundations for practice requires more replication, an extension of the range of outcomes it is possible to study and a narrowing of the gap between research, policy and practice. Enlarging understanding of social work's political functions and its relationship to welfare entails research programmes, strongly rooted in the social sciences, which include analysis of community interventions, social work's regulating and mediating functions, and exploration of the personal and social circumstances of those who achieve success and well-being despite their vulnerabilities and limited life chances.Universities, independent research institutions and social work agencies are the necessary locations for this substantial and diverse agenda.     

Preregistering qualitative research

The threat to reproducibility and awareness of current rates of research misbehavior sparked initiatives to better academic science. One initiative is preregistration of quantitative research. We investigate whether the preregistration format could also be used to boost the credibility of qualitative research. A crucial distinction underlying preregistration is that between prediction and postdiction. In qualitative research, data are used to decide which way interpretation should move forward, using data to generate hypotheses and new research questions. Qualitative research is thus a real-life example of postdiction research. Some may object to the idea of preregistering qualitative studies because qualitative research generally does not test hypotheses, and because qualitative research design is typically flexible and subjective. We rebut these objections, arguing that making hypotheses explicit is just one feature of preregistration, that flexibility can be tracked using preregistration, and that preregistration would provide a check on subjectivity. We then contextualize preregistrations alongside another initiative to enhance credibility in qualitative research: the confirmability audit. Besides, preregistering qualitative studies is practically useful to combating dissemination bias and could incentivize qualitative researchers to report constantly on their study's development. We conclude with suggested modifications to the Open Science Framework preregistration form to tailor it for qualitative studies.     

Person-oriented research ethics: integrating relational and everyday ethics in research

Research ethics is often understood by researchers primarily through the regulatory framework reflected in the research ethics review process. This regulatory understanding does not encompass the range of ethical considerations in research, notably those associated with the relational and everyday aspects of human subject research. In order to support researchers in their effort to adopt a broader lens, this article presents a “person-oriented research ethics” approach. Five practical guideposts of person-oriented research ethics are identified, as follows: (1) respect for holistic personhood; (2) acknowledgement of lived world; (3) individualization; (4) focus on researcher-participant relationships; and (5) empowerment in decision-making. These guideposts are defined and illustrated with respect to different aspects of the research process (e.g., research design, recruitment, data collection). The person-oriented research ethics approach provides a toolkit to individual researchers, research groups, and research institutions in both biomedical and social science research wishing to expand their commitment to ethics in research.     

Human embryonic stem cell research: an argument for national research review

The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently published voluntary guidelines for human embryonic stem (hES) cell research. The NAS guidelines propose two levels of oversight. AT the local level, research institutions are to create Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight (ESCRO) committees with a mandate to assess the scientific merit and ethical acceptability of hES cell research. At the national level, a new committee is to be created, not to review specific research proposals, but rather to periodically assess, and as needed revise, the NAS guidelines. In this article, we critically assess this proposal. In particular, we review the benefits and limitations of local research review. On this basis, we argue that local review is insufficient for hES cell research and that while there are obvious pragmatic and political reasons for the NAS to favor local research review, there are more compelling reasons for the NAS to have recommended national review of hES cell research proposals.     

Evaluating research misconduct policies at major research universities: a pilot study

This pilot study evaluates the accessibility and usefulness of the research misconduct (RM) policies at the top-25 universities as ranked by NIH and NSF grant awards. Measuring accessibility demonstrates how readily-available policies are to the people they affect. Evaluating the range of policy content indicates whether policies and procedures on research misconduct are "useful" as opposed to merely "minimal" (Rhoades, 2003). On average, it took five clicks to get from a university's home page to its RM policies. Only nine policies were accessed within three or fewer clicks. Policy information was coded into categories comprising a total of 20 topic areas, which were then grouped into five content domains. The policies reveal a broad range of usefulness. Some provide relevant details on almost every topic area, while others leave most questions unanswered. Three of the 20 topic areas are almost universally covered in the policies analyzed. In contrast, five other topic areas average less than half of the information which could have been included. These policies, from elite U.S. research universities, may serve as role models; as such they should perhaps be held to the highest standards. If the message sent by a policy lacks clarity and precision, it should be revised to include an appropriate level of detail.     

Evaluating research misconduct policies at major research universities: A pilot study

This pilot study evaluates the accessibility and usefulness of the research misconduct (RM) policies at the top-25 universities as ranked by NIH and NSF grant awards. Measuring accessibility demonstrates how readily-available policies are to the people they affect. Evaluating the range of policy content indicates whether policies and procedures on research misconduct are “useful” as opposed to merely “minimal” (Rhoades, 2003 Rhoades, L. J. Policies and Procedures: Minimal or Useful. Presentation to the introductory workshop for institutional research integrity officers. University of Connecticut Health Center.  [Google Scholar]). On average, it took five clicks to get from a university's home page to its RM policies. Only nine policies were accessed within three or fewer clicks. Policy information was coded into categories comprising a total of 20 topic areas, which were then grouped into five content domains. The policies reveal a broad range of usefulness. Some provide relevant details on almost every topic area, while others leave most questions unanswered. Three of the 20 topic areas are almost universally covered in the policies analyzed. In contrast, five other topic areas average less than half of the information which could have been included. These policies, from elite U.S. research universities, may serve as role models; as such they should perhaps be held to the highest standards. If the message sent by a policy lacks clarity and precision, it should be revised to include an appropriate level of detail.     

Stewardship of research resources

Most accounts of research ethics focus on the importance of a handful of ethical and epistemological norms for the conduct of science, such as honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability, objectivity, collegiality, fairness, social responsibility, but have little to say about another, less well-known norm that also deserves attention: stewardship of research resources. Many of the behaviors and practices that are widely regarded as unethical or ethically questionable involve wasting or misusing money, time, and other resources. While good stewardship of resources may not be as crucial to the ethics of science as other norms, it is an important consideration that scientists should keep in mind when managing their own resources or mentoring students and trainees in the responsible conduct of research. Additional investigation into the ethics of stewardship may help us better understand how this norm interacts with other research norms and guides scientific conduct.     

Ethics of research design

Discussions of ethical issues in research involving human subjects most usually provoke concerns about valid informed consent procedures. However, considering the recognized limitations of informed consent, arguably the way a study is designed is a more consequential concern for subject well‐being. This paper summarizes ethical issues in the design of clinical research, with reference to historic and current guidelines. Special attention is given to randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and psychiatric research.     

Using research in practice: A research information service for social care practitioners

In recent years a variety of initiatives have been created with the aim of increasing the use of research in social care practice. This article reports findings from a one‐year pilot research information service provided by the What Works for Children project. Taking note of the evidence from the research utilization literature, the service was set up to support social care practitioners in using research findings in their service‐planning. An implementation officer worked with service‐planners to identify areas where research could be helpful. Researchers provided responses to practitioners’ questions by searching for, critically appraising and summarizing the relevant literature. This article looks at the practicalities of running such a service and discusses its potential for influencing research use. The pilot underlines the importance of some of the obstacles to using research, some of which our service was able to overcome. The gap between what practitioners want from research and what research provides is discussed.     

When RIP means research in progress--the use of brain dead subjects in medical research

Recent research reported in a number of medical journals highlights some of the problems associated with performing experiments with human subjects who have been declared dead using the brain death criteria of death. These reports provide interesting illustrations of some of the real dilemmas involved in the regulation of human subjects experimentation. In particular, the traditional method of balancing risks and benefits in determining the ethical acceptability of research on human subjects is thrown into question. It is suggested that there should be a moratorium on the use of brain-dead subjects in research until some of the issues can be clarified and appropriate guidelines for the conduct of this research can be prepared.     

Directions in border security research

This research note offers an appraisal of the contemporary state of U.S.-Mexico border security studies. An overview of recent literature on this subject is connected through two landmark political developments impacting the U.S.-Mexico frontier: the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001. These two political events have had a major effect both on the ground and in the academy as scholars attempt to come to terms with the contradictions, complexities, and general problems of border security under neoliberal free trade and the threat of terrorism. The analysis concludes that while some important research in U.S.-Mexico border security exists, recent developments—coupled with pre-existing gaps in the literature—suggest that much crucial work remains to be done to understand and evaluate the complex dynamics of the new border security environment.     

穿孔文化的社会学探究

人类在自己的身体上穿孔大概有6000年以上的历史了。现今，越来越多的青年男女不再是为穿孔而穿孔。却开始了另外一种穿“孔”艺术。他们在身体很多部位都打上孔，穿上各种各样的饰物，用一种张扬，另类的方式诠释这种古老的“艺术”。