Good Research Practice Research Articles

Research Data Management (RDM) at the University of Ghana (UG)

This article explores Research Data Management (RDM) at the University of Ghana (UG). It emphasises on institutional awareness and attitudes, and whether the University Library is officially supporting this emerging strategic interest in research focused Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Purposive sampling was used to select information-rich respondents from across the University (i.e. Librarians, Research Administrators, ICT Managers and Senior Researchers) who were interviewed on a range of issues about RDM. Institutional documents were also reviewed to corroborate the primary data and get a deeper understanding of the research problem. The study shows that while RDM is recognised at the institutional level as good research practice and integrity issue, the concept is tenuously understood in the local community. Unsurprisingly, however, there was a general appreciation and awareness of the need for RDM and the implications for such critical concerns as security, integrity, continuity and institutional reputation. The library is yet to take a strategic approach to RDM issues and there is clearly a dearth in RDM expertise within the library system. The study recommends that the library must be proactive in advocating and promoting RDM issues at UG, but first, the Librarians must take advantage of numerous existing opportunities to build their capacity.

Use of translation and plurilingual practices in language learning

AbstractHere we will present a pedagogical framework for the implementation of an Integrated Plurilingual Approach (IPA) to language learning that has emerged from research and observation of best practices in primary, secondary, and higher education. Researchers, teachers, and students collaborated in three interconnected projects (2012–2015; 2015–2019) whose main aims were to help teachers and learners move towards acknowledging and explicitly connecting their linguistic repertoires to reframe their current classroom practices and engage in new ones. This implied a reformulation of their pedagogical practices, including the use of translation to acquire interlinguistic, intercultural and mediation skills in contexts other than professional translator training (TOLC). Two instruments resulted: one to help the teachers transform their perceptions and, so, their performance, regarding the plurilingual paradigm, afour-phase collaborative reflective cycle; and another to guide their instructional design, thefive-dimensional instructional framework (IPA-5DIF). Some classroom examples will be presented here, with special reference to a high-complexity secondary school context (118 students, 4 teachers).

Assessment of Readiness for Industry 4.0 Implementation in Ceramic Industry

This paper focuses on the implementation of principles of Industry 4.0 concept to the ceramic industry. The topic of this paper is to address the problematics of the implementation of processes and elements of digitization within the Industry 4.0 concept into the ceramic industry. Firstly, thorough literature and best-practice research will be discussed. Based on the state of current knowledge, the concept of the Industry 4.0 Readiness Model for Refractory will be presented. The model’s main focus is on the readiness of current business structures, processes and technical and economical situation. It will provide the necessary analysis and insight into the potential company’s processes and background. Based on this analysis, it will be possible to define the main obstacles for future digitalization and automation within Industry 4.0 the concept in Refractory industry. On the foundation of data obtained by Industry 4.0 Readiness Model for Refractory, it will be possible to implement the Industry 4.0 solutions with the highest added value to a specific company, based on its current state. The main purpose of this paper is to summarize and discuss key parameters and framework for Industry 4.0 Readiness Model for Refractory and its connection to future implementation of Industry 4.0 features within the ceramic industry.

YOUTH JUSTICE

Against a background of continuing wide-ranging reforms of the youth justice system, CYP Now's special report looks at the latest trends and policy developments, academic research and examples of best practice

Survey study of research integrity officers\u2019 perceptions of research practices associated with instances of research misconduct

BackgroundResearch on research integrity has tended to focus on frequency of research misconduct and factors that might induce someone to commit research misconduct. A definitive answer to the first question has been elusive, but it remains clear that any research misconduct is too much. Answers to the second question are so diverse, it might be productive to ask a different question: What about how research is done allows research misconduct to occur?MethodsWith that question in mind, research integrity officers (RIOs) of the 62 members of the American Association of Universities were invited to complete a brief survey about their most recent instance of a finding of research misconduct. Respondents were asked whether one or more good practices of research (e.g., openness and transparency, keeping good research records) were present in their case of research misconduct.ResultsTwenty-four (24) of the respondents (39% response rate) indicated they had dealt with at least one finding of research misconduct and answered the survey questions. Over half of these RIOs reported that their case of research misconduct had occurred in an environment in which at least nine of the ten listed good practices of research were deficient.ConclusionsThese results are not evidence for a causal effect of poor practices, but it is arguable that committing research misconduct would be more difficult if not impossible in research environments adhering to good practices of research.

53 Risk factors for facial lesions in piglets and teat injuries in sows – a review

Abstract Painful procedures performed on piglets are one of the most important welfare concerns of intensive pig production. For example, teeth resection is a common practice whereby the canine (needle) teeth are clipped or ground to prevent piglet facial and sow teat lesions. Based on a global consumer survey in 2018, 60% of respondents will potentially stop purchasing pork from pigs experiencing painful procedures. In contrast to tail docking and surgical castration, little is known about the risk factors for piglet facial and sow teat lesions and therefore the need for teeth resection. We reviewed the literature to better understand these risk factors and conducted a survey to identify preventative strategies in practice that have enabled producers to avoid teeth resection. For the literature review, we used Web of Science and Google Scholar to include peer-reviewed publications and gray literature. The questionnaire was distributed with convenience sampling to relevant stakeholders. In the questionnaire, information on current on-farm practices regarding teeth resection was collected, including the method, frequency, and reason for conducting teeth resection, and preventative measures used. Preliminary findings of the literature review showed that most studies only focused on teeth resection and its effect on piglet facial and sow teat lesions. Other risk factors identified are litter size, farrowing system and flooring, milk production, management of fostering, flooring, and enrichment. The survey is ongoing and the complete results will be presented during the conference. Our review suggests many risk factors are related to piglet facial and sow teat lesions other than whether or not teeth resection is carried out. There is still a knowledge gap in the understanding of how alleviating these risk factors can prevent said lesions, and further research and dissemination of best practice is needed to explore different solutions instead of solely relying on teeth resection.

A survey of research quality in core facilities.

Core facilities are an effective way of making expensive experimental equipment available to a large number of researchers, and are thus well placed to contribute to efforts to promote good research practices. Here we report the results of a survey that asked core facilities in Europe about their approaches to the promotion of good research practices, and about their interactions with users from the first contact to the publication of the results. Based on 253 responses we identified four ways that good research practices could be encouraged: (i) motivating users to follow the advice and procedures for best research practice; (ii) providing clear guidance on data-management practices; (iii) improving communication along the whole research process; and (iv) clearly defining the responsibilities of each party.

Hearing Norton Sound: community involvement in the design of a mixed methods community randomized trial in 15 Alaska Native communities

Plain English summaryCommunity involvement is important in good research practice. We led a community-based study to improve early detection and treatment of childhood hearing loss in rural Alaska. This study evaluated a cell phone-based hearing screening process and compared a new telemedicine specialty referral pathway to the standard primary care referral pathway. The study included community involvement, engagement, and participation from the very beginning to inform how to best design the trial. We obtained insight and feedback from community members through involvement of a core stakeholder team and through community engagement and participation in focus groups and community events. Feedback received through community involvement and participation influenced the design of the trial at key decision points. Community member guidance shaped the research question, the outcomes to be measured, and the procedures for completing the project, such as participant recruitment. This study offers an example of community involvement, engagement and participation that could be mirrored in future research to maintain the interests of participating communities.BackgroundEffective systems for early identification and treatment of childhood hearing loss are essential in rural Alaska, where data indicate a high prevalence of childhood ear infections and hearing loss. However, loss to follow-up from school hearing screening programs is pervasive. The Hearing Norton Sound study was a mixed methods community randomized controlled trial that was developed to address this gap. The study engaged community members and participants in the design of the trial, including involvement of stakeholders as collaborators.MethodsCommunity engagement and participation in research design occurred through focus groups and through the integration of stakeholders into the study team. Representation was cross-sectoral, involving individuals from multiple levels of the school and health system, as well as community members from each of the 15 communities. Feedback obtained between April 2017 and August 2017 informed the final design of the randomized trial, which began enrollment of children in October 2017 and concluded in March 2019.ResultsStakeholder involvement and community participation shaped the design of specific trial elements (research question; comparators; outcomes and measures; telemedicine protocols; and recruitment and retention). Community involvement was strengthened by the use of multiple modalities of involvement and by the positionality of lead stakeholders on the study team.ConclusionsThis study highlights the effectiveness of multifaceted stakeholder involvement and participation in the design of health research conducted within Alaska Native communities. It offers an example of involvement and reporting that could be mirrored in future research in order to protect and further the interests of the participating community.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03309553, First registered 10/9/2017

Evaluating community-based research: Hearing the views of student research partners

Despite the increasing popularity in the academy of collaborative approaches to research, evaluating the impacts of Students-as-Partners (SaP) initiatives has thus far received less systematic attention. This paper presents an evaluation of a participatory community-based research project where academics partnered with 15 mature students in a socio-economically disadvantaged estate in the south of Ireland to co-construct a household survey and conduct field research to gather the views of fellow residents on the regeneration of their area. The paper reports the findings of a subsequent qualitative, participatory evaluation of the student’s experience of this partnership with academics and its impacts. The findings illuminate some of the benefits and challenges of community-based staff-student research partnerships and points to the imperatives of aligning institutional, funder, and community participants’ capacities and objectives throughout the research cycle and the importance of evaluation to inform good practice in community-based research.

The Role of Patients in Alopecia Areata Endpoint Development: Understanding Physical Signs and Symptoms.

Meaningful patient input to understand disease experience and patient expectations for improvement with treatment is essential for the selection and development of outcome measures for alopecia areata (AA) clinical trials. This study explored the physical signs and symptoms of AA through 30 semistructured interviews with adult (n= 25) and adolescent (n= 5) patients experienced with severe or very severe AA. Scalp hair loss was overwhelmingly the most important sign and symptom of AA. Nearly all patients (90%) considered scalp hair loss in their top three most bothersome physical signs and symptoms of AA, with 77% (n= 23) naming scalp hair loss as the most bothersome symptom. Other identified signs and symptoms in the top three most bothersome included eyebrow, eyelash, nose, body, and facial hair loss, as well as eye irritation and nail damage and/or appearance. Eyebrow (16%, n= 4), eyelash (4%, n= 1), nasal (4%, n= 1), and body (4%, n= 1) hair loss were identified by seven adult patients as the most bothersome signs and symptoms of AA. Conceptual saturation confirmed that a comprehensive understanding of this patient population's physical AA-related signs and symptoms was obtained. These findings indicate that the primary objective for new AA treatments for this patient population should be meaningful improvement in scalp hair growth to address the most troubling unmet need.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cirrhotics with Hepatocellular Carcinoma During Follow-Up: Direct Consequences or Collateral Damages?

Background & Aims: COVID-19 posed a major worldwide threat to population health as well as to patients with comorbidities, but its impact on patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma is currently poorly understood. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of COVID-19 outbreak both on the clinical outcome of these patients and on their follow-up. Methods: We conducted a phone survey off all patients living in Lombardy (the region with the highest incidence of Covid-19 infections in our country) included in our database and treated for hepatocellular carcinoma from January 2017 to April 2020. Results: We analyzed the database concerning 187 patients submitted to surgical treatment for HCC: 35 patients died before the pandemic. Therefore, we obtained a complete answer to the questionnaire from 131 patients while in other 7 cases we gained information by a family member because the patient had died in the meanwhile; 14 cases were unreachable (9%). We identified 7 cases of Covid-19 among the 138 patients (5%): 5 confirmed and 2 probables. One patient died for COVID-19 pneumonia. During the lockdown period (March-April 2020), we registered 7 deaths: 1 patient for Covid-19 pneumonia, 2 patients for diffuse HCC recurrence and the remnant 4 for other causes. (crude death rate: 46.4). In the same period of 2018, we registered a crude death rate of 25.6 while in the 2019 a crude death rate of 10. Conclusions: irrespective of a low rate of Covid infections in a group of frailty patients, we observed a higher rate of mortality due to other causes: the reduced access to health services due to the disruption of the normal activities and the forced reassurance of sick patients could be the primary causes of this increase.Funding Statement: None.Declaration of Interests: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose. Ethics Approval Statement: This retrospective study protocol was approved by our Institutional Review Board and waived the requirement for informed consent. Research involving human participants and/or animals Institutional review research board approval was granted by ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, and appropriate good clinical and research practices were followed.

How behavioral science can inform policies to prevent discrimination against the Asian community in the era of COVID-19

The Asian community in the United States has seen an enormous uptick in discriminatory experiences since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian individuals have reported discrimination within their workplaces, in their communities, and against Asian-owned businesses. Many for-profit organizations have failed to acknowledge this surge. We argue that organizations should adopt policies to protect their Asian employees and clientele. On the basis of behavioral science research and knowledge of best practices for promoting diversity and inclusion, we suggest that organizational leaders create crisis task forces to find ways to reduce discrimination against Asian employees and that the leaders more generally reaffirm organizational commitments to diversity and inclusion, communicate those commitments to stakeholders, visibly enact expected organizational norms related to diversity and inclusion, and establish or reassess accountability systems to ensure that policies and norms are followed.

The spatial impact of train stations on small and medium-sized European cities and their contemporary urban design challenges

ABSTRACT After a decade marked by the renewal of grand European high-speed railway stations, today, a second wave of station renewal is at hand. This paper argues the importance of the train station in the historical development of smaller cities. Based on comparative research of recent best practices, the contemporary urban design challenges of smaller and medium-sized stations are explored. The paper concludes that the station is no longer shaped as a monolithic, architectural cathedral, as for the grand stations, but interweaves the world of the passer-by with that of the local inhabitant as a system of public infrastructure and facilities.

Quantifying the impacts of abrasion and bacterial transfer when fish are exposed to sand during a catch-and-release event

Best-practice guidelines to improve recreational fishers’ handling during catch-and-release (C&R) events are critical to improve the conservation and management of fish stocks worldwide. While best-practice research is growing, there are knowledge gaps, with the effects of sand exposure on fish mucous membranes understudied. This study aimed to determine the effects of exposing a fish to sand during a C&R event. A total of 360 juvenile (48–137 mm TL) Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi were subjected to a simulated C&R event during which they were either held: (i) with wet hands, or (ii) dry hands; or with wet hands and then placed on either (iii) wet sterilised sand, (iv) dry sterilised sand, (v) wet unsterilised sand, or (vi) dry unsterilised sand. Fish were maintained in a recirculating system for two weeks, euthanised and subjected to an examination of their mucous layer (bacterial counts, abrasion counts and percentage of abrasion area) and an internal biological assessment. Bacteria from fish mucous layers were cultivated on agar plates to count bacterial colonies. Fish appeared to be healthy and mortality was low (2.5%) after the two-week treatment period. There were no significant differences in the number of skin abrasions among treatments. Although not significant, unsterilised-sand treatments had higher mean bacterial counts and large variation among individuals. Variation was attributed to abrasion and subsequent exposure to foreign bacteria in these treatments. Although the findings suggest that exposure to sand did not negatively affect fish health and survival, larger fish may be more susceptible to abrasions and infections.

Systematic review and meta-analysis as a structured platform for teaching principles of experimentation

Access to knowledge has never been easier in the internet age, and so it is important that students develop skills to discriminate undependable information from reliably investigated research. We have created an exercise that teaches good research practice by exploring the history, ethics, and design of clinical trials. Students apply their understanding of these principles through an assessed systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) exercise. Here, a clinically themed hypothesis is tested using a structured literature search in conjunction with an eligibility matrix to map study design, ethics, subject selection, randomization and blinding, methodological standards, study power, and other potential sources of interstudy heterogeneity. Data extracted from selected studies are used to produce a forest plot with an aggregated effect size, confidence range, and measure of interstudy heterogeneity. A funnel plot is then used in conjunction with the eligibility matrix to evaluate study bias tendency, and, in this way, students reflect on the factors that promote disparate conclusion-making among studies with a common research focus. This exercise produced a normally distributed grade-profile across three academic-year cohorts, and comparison of individual exercise grade with year-long aggregated average suggested students who performed less well on conventional assignments engaged successfully with the systematic nature of this assessment. Those opting to use this format for their final-year capstone project also performed above their grade point average from the preceding year. We suggest that SRMA offers a readily applied method for students to quantitatively explore how differences in experimental research practices influence study dependability.

Using normative ethics for building a good evaluation of research practices: towards the assessment of researcher\u2019s virtues

In this paper, we propose the adoption of moral philosophy and in particular normative ethics, to clarify the concept of “good” evaluation of “research practices”. Using MacIntyre (1985)’s notion of a practice we argue that research is a form of social practice. As a result of this characterization, we claim that research practice typically requires three typologies of researcher: the leader, the good researcher and the honest researcher. Reflecting on what is a “good” research practice and on what is the role of researchers in it provides insight into some aspects of both the self-assessment process and how this promotes individual improvement. Moreover, this kind of reflection helps us to describe the functions (missions) of the research practices. A “good” evaluation should take into account all the building constituents of a “good” research practice and should be able to discriminate between good and bad research practices, while enforcing the functions of good research practices. We believe that these reflections may be the starting point for a paradigm shift in the evaluation of research practices which replaces an evaluation centred on products with an evaluation focused on the functions of these practices. In the last sections of the paper, we introduce and discuss an important aspect for the implementation of the proposed framework. This relates to the assessment of the virtues of researchers involved in a good research practice. Some examples of questions and preliminary items to include in a questionnaire for the assessment of Virtues in Research Practices are also provided.

E-INEBRIA Special Interest Group Roadmap for Best Practices for Research on Brief Digital Interventions for Problematic Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use

There is great potential for scaling up the delivery of brief interventions for alcohol and illicit drug use, given the increasing coverage of mobile devices and technologies for digital interventions, including apps for smartphones and tablets. However, while the number of digital interventions is increasing rapidly, the involvement of brief-intervention researchers and the development of good practices has just begun. In 2018, the Special Interest Group on digital interventions of the International Network on Brief Interventions for Alcohol & Other Drugs (e-INEBRIA SIG) initiated a conversation regarding possible avenues of future research, which subsequently became a roadmap for digital interventions. This roadmap consists of points considered relevant for future research, ongoing technological developments, and their implementation across a continuum of prevention and care. Moreover, it outlines starting points for the diversification of brief digital interventions, as well as next steps for quality improvement and implementation in public health and clinical practice. The roadmap of the e-INEBRIA SIG on digital interventions is a starting point that indicates relevant next steps and provides orientation for researchers and interested practitioners with regard to the ambiguous literature and the complexity of current digital interventions.

The thermal ecology and physiology of reptiles and amphibians: A user's guide.

Research on the thermal ecology and physiology of free-living organisms is accelerating as scientists and managers recognize the urgency of the global biodiversity crisis brought on by climate change. As ectotherms, temperature fundamentally affects most aspects of the lives of amphibians and reptiles, making them excellent models for studying how animals are impacted by changing temperatures. As research on this group of organisms accelerates, it is essential to maintain consistent and optimal methodology so that results can be compared across groups and over time. This review addresses the utility of reptiles and amphibians as model organisms for thermal studies by reviewing the best practices for research on their thermal ecology and physiology, and by highlighting key studies that have advanced the field with new and improved methods. We end by presenting several areas where reptiles and amphibians show great promise for further advancing our understanding of how temperature relations between organisms and their environments are impacted by global climate change.

Accountability practices in research and publication ethics on the web. Linguistic and discursive features

With the large increase in the amount of published research being carried out throughout the world, potential is mounting for ethical practices to take a back seat in the apparent frequency of reported cases of scientific misconduct. While these cases erode the credibility of scientific research and public trust in the publication process, they often delineate accountabilities between conflicting parties and require organisational and institutional responses to good research practices based on fundamental, ethical principles of research integrity. In this paper, I explore the linguistic and discursive features of research and publication ethics in a representative corpus of misconduct cases as a genre created and maintained by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) organisation over its website. Using a combined framework of methodological perspectives from functionally-defined criteria of discourse and genre categorizations (Askehave, Swales 2001; Bhatia 2004; Swales 2004) alongside evaluation (Hunston, Thompson 2000) and stance-taking (Biber et al. 1999; Hyland 2005), this study looks at the discourse organisational structure of texts with identifiable communicative moves and associated language use to unveil the types of social actors’ relations and identities constructed through “Action”, “Representation” and “Identification” (Fairclough 2003) of the social events and practices in question via recontextualization and interdiscursivity (Bhatia 2004, 2017; Fairclough 2003; Sarangi, Brookers-Howell 2006). Linguistic and rhetorical choices made on recontextualized and representational features of text reveal how cases set the tone for accountability between the social actors (parties) involved in matters of research ethics, and how they allow the organisation to take responsibility for the integrity of their research conduct by fostering a climate of responsible practices and adjusting party accountabilities. Attending to both linguistic and discursive features, the communicative practices of the case genre authenticate the competing social relations, identities, values or interests of the parties in this kind of discourse representation, and align the institutional action, identity and values of the organisation with social norms when legitimising its commitment to create and preserve conditions for ethical principles and professional standards essential for a range of responsible practices of research publishing.

Dismantling historical power inequality through authentic health research collaboration: Southern partners’ aspirations

ABSTRACT Several health research organisations whose work focuses on international collaboration outline guidelines that support ethical practice in health research partnerships including building consensus around good collaborative research practice. This paper explores researcher’s perspectives, experiences, and reflections on the elements of successful health research partnerships between Northern and Southern countries/institutions. The study adopted a qualitative research approach using in-depth interviews to explore what an authentic partnership is as experienced and aspired by stakeholders in health research partnerships in Zambia. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders implementing various health research activities in the country. Our findings revealed that Southern partners aspired for equal status and participation, transparency, and accountability, interdependency, and reciprocity, commitment to shared goals, open dialogue and sustainability in partnerships. While to some extent these aspirations overlap with the categories covered throughout the different partnership guidelines, some key aspects go beyond what is included in existing recommendations such as status and recognition which are salient in the broader guidelines. An important aspect in dismantling power structures that causes inequality in partnerships is through generating knowledge and innovation using local resources in the South to address local needs which can be subsequently re-used to address challenges at the global level.