Research Integrity: International Perspectives

Abstract

TheWorld Conferences on Research Integrity provide a useful vantage point from which to view research integrity in the global arena. This commentary reflects on the role and development of the World Conferences and reviews changes in research integrity and related issues since the initiation of the Conferences. It identifies shifts in focus from individual researchers who engage in misconduct to empirical research on research integrity, work environments of researchers, the human and behavioral aspects of research integrity, and the influence of research systems on integrity and misconduct. Introduction and Summary Approaches to the conduct of research differ across national and disciplinary boundaries, giving rise to variations in perspectives on research integrity. The World Conferences on Research Integrity have reflected this variation, but have also played a role in promoting greater agreement on fundamental aspects of research integrity. The Conferences have tracked the evolution of policy, oversight, and instruction as ways to foster integrity in research. Research is pursued worldwide through the global distribution of scientists and research institutions and through extensive networks of international research collaboration. Researchers are drawn to places where they can get access to the objects of their study (volcanoes, diseases, cultural systems), necessary equipment and materials (telescopes, gene pools, historical records), and the expertise of their collaborators. None of these components is exclusive to a single country for all areas of research, and so research activity is global in scope. Systems that support research vary widely across national boundaries. The ways in which research is funded, the priorities that are set by governmental or other authorities, and the institutional structures that shape research initiatives and prepare young scientists are set up in different ways in different countries. These variations give rise to different interpretations of how research should be done, which are expressed in policies, codes, norms, and practices that are not uniform worldwide. A further complication is that research, being a human enterprise, is subject to the vagaries of human motivation and behavior. No matter what system of rules and norms is in place, individuals may succumb to temptation to skirt the rules to individual or group advantage. Even the most fundamental, virtually universal rules about proper conduct in research are breached from time to time by individuals, and this unfortunate phenomenon is also not confined to any single country. The clearest evidence of such misconduct is the egregious cases that originate in various countries and get worldwide publicity. As the interpretation of what constitutes proper research conduct varies, so do approaches to fostering good conduct. Overall, there are three general mechanisms that encompass most approaches: policy and regulation; oversight and compliance; and instruction and training. The nature and extensiveness of these systems vary considerably, as countries shift from very little formal oversight to more highly articulated systems. It is apparent that the USA has the most highly developed system of integrity oversight, due in *Email: mand@umn.edu Handbook of Academic Integrity DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-079-7_40-1 # Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2015