Integrity Of Scientific Research Research Articles

Quality of Scientific Activity, Technology Transfer and Research Integrity: Case of Ukrainian University

The article analyzes the relationship between the concepts “quality of scientific activity”, “technology transfer” and “research integrity”. The main task of research is to offer practical tools for maintaining research integrity as elements of the internal and external quality assurance system of education and research. One of the working hypotheses of the study is the correlation between the quality of educational activities at the university, the quality of research and the level of interest of customers of innovative developments in the process of transfer and commercialization of research results. The first two components are determined by the “purity” of research through the implementation of the principles of research integrity. The schematic relationship between the individual goals of sustainable development characterizes the relationship “university − the quality of research − technology transfer – industry”. A logical scheme between research integrity, technology transfer and procedures for internal and external research quality assurance is proposed. The abstract-logical method and the method of induction-deduction were used to analyze the relationship between the concepts of “quality of scientific activity”, “technology transfer” and “research integrity”. Bibliometric analysis was performed using SciVal and VOSviewer tools based on data from the scientific-metric databases Scopus and Web of Science. Based on the bibliometric analysis, it was found that the query “research integrity” identifies the main violations of research integrity and shows a strong link between the quality of research and success in the transfer of knowledge and technology from university to industry. The main problems of the development of technology transfer between the university and industry at the national level are analyzed. A separate block of problems related to research integrity is identified. The case of the national university on creation of university system of maintenance of research integrity and development of infrastructure of maintenance of scientific activity within the limits of the specified system is resulted. The results of the work can be useful for the triangle “business education-science” to reconcile the interests of all the “vertices” of the triangle under the mandatory condition – ensuring the quality of educational and research activities in universities as centers of intellectual potential.

Інтелектуальна праця як інструмент забезпечення досягнення Цілей сталого розвитку

The article explores the role and contribution of intellectual work to the process of ensuring and improving the main aspects of human life in accordance with the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Intellectual work is considered as an important resource for the creation of high-quality, innovative production, which provides for solution of important global problems of sustainable development. As part of a multilateral integrated approach, the impact of intellectual work results on the achievements of SDGs is researched. It is determined that the SDGs are interconnected and reinforce each other in the process of achievement, which is why their results are also comprehensive, that is, the result of improvements in the field of one goal is the way to achieve another one. A reflection of the dominant role of intellectual work in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is the ninth SDGs – innovation and infrastructure. The development of technologies, creation of innovations and breakthrough solutions are crucial in the context of achieving the SDGs, and, accordingly, intellectual work, intellectual property and innovations are increasingly becoming socially significant and, due to the increased importance, need developing and implementing the policy of the integrity of scientific research along with protecting their results. Prospect for further research in this direction can be the issues of enhancing the efficiency of intellectual workers and increasing the opportunities to use the potential of intellectual activity for the further development of society.

Perspectives of Singaporean biomedical researchers and research support staff on actual and ideal IRB review functions and characteristics: A quantitative analysis.

BackgroundBiomedical research is overseen by numerous Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in Singapore but there has been no research that examines how the research review process is perceived by the local research community nor is there any systematic data on perceptions regarding the review process or other research ethics processes and IRB characteristics. The aim of this study was to ascertain general views regarding the overall perceived value of ethics review processes; to measure perceptions about local IRB functions and characteristics; to identify IRB functions and characteristics viewed as important; and to compare these views with those of other international studies.MethodsAn online survey was used with the main component being the IRB-Researcher Assessment Tool (IRB-RAT), a validated tool, to evaluate perceptions of ideal and actual IRB functions and characteristics held by Singaporean researchers and research support staff. Data were analysed descriptively first, with mean and SD of each item of IRB-RAT questionnaire reported, excluding the respondents whose answers were unknown or not applicable. The Wilcoxon Sign Rank test was used to compare the ideal and actual ratings of each IRB-RAT item, while the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the ratings of each IRB-RAT item between respondents with different characteristics. The Z-test was used to compare the mean ratings of our cohort with the mean ratings reported in the literature. The correlation between our mean ideal scores and those of two international studies also employing the IRB-RAT was examined.ResultsSeventy-one respondents completed the survey. This cohort generally held positive views of the impact of the ethics review process on: the quality of research; establishing and maintaining public trust in research; the protection of research participants; and on the scientific validity of research. The most important ideal IRB characteristics were timeliness, upholding participants’ rights while also facilitating research, working with investigators to find solutions when there are disagreements, and not allowing biases to affect reviews. For almost all 45 IRB-RAT statements, the rating of the importance of the characteristic was higher than the rating of how much that characteristic was descriptive of IRBs the respondents were familiar with. There was a significant strong correlation between our study’s scores on the ideal IRB characteristics and those of the first and largest published study that employed the IRB-RAT, the US National Validation (USNV) sample in Keith-Spiegel et al. [19].ConclusionsAn understanding of the perceptions held by Singaporean researchers and research support staff on the value that the ethics review process adds, their perceptions of actual IRB functions and characteristics as well as what they view as central to high functioning IRBs is the first step to considering the aspects of the review process that might benefit from improvements. This study provides insight into how our cohort compares to others internationally and highlights strengths and areas for improvement of Singapore IRBs as perceived by a small sample of the local research community. Such insights provide a springboard for additional research and may assist in further enhancing good relations so that both are working towards the same end.

In Vivo Plasticity at Hippocampal Schaffer Collateral-CA1 Synapses: Replicability of the LTP Response and Pharmacology in the Long-Evans Rat.

Broad issues associated with non-replicability have been described in experimental pharmacological and behavioral cognitive studies. Efforts to prevent biases that contribute to non-replicable scientific protocols and to improve experimental rigor for reproducibility are increasingly seen as a basic requirement for the integrity of scientific research. Synaptic plasticity, encompassing long-term potentiation (LTP), is believed to underlie mechanisms of learning and memory. The present study was undertaken in Long-Evans (LE) rats, a strain of rat commonly used in cognitive behavioral tests, to (1) compare three LTP tetanisation protocols, namely, the high-frequency stimulation (HFS), the theta-burst stimulation (TBS), and the paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) at the Schaffer collateral-CA1 stratum radiatum synapse and to (2) assess sensitivity to acute pharmacology. Results: (1) When compared to Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, the HFS using a stimulus intensity of 50% of the maximum slope obtained from input/output (I/O) curves elicited lower and higher thresholds of synaptic plasticity responses in SD and LE rats, respectively. The 2-train TBS protocol significantly enhanced the LTP response in LE rats over the 5- and 10-train TBS protocols in both strains, and the 5 × TBS protocol inducing a subthreshold LTP response was used in subsequent pharmacological studies in LE rats. The PPF protocol, investigating the locus of the LTP response, showed no difference for the selected interstimulus intervals. (2) Scopolamine, a nonspecific muscarinic antagonist, had a subtle effect, whereas donepezil, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, significantly enhanced the LTP response, demonstrating the sensitivity of the TBS protocol to enhanced cholinergic tone. MK-801, a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, significantly reduced LTP response, while memantine, another NMDA antagonist, had no effect on LTP response, likely associated with a weaker TBS protocol. PQ10, a phosphodiesterase-10 inhibitor, significantly enhanced the TBS-induced LTP response, but did not change the PPF response. Overall, the results confirm the strain-dependent differences in the form of synaptic plasticity, replicate earlier plasticity results, and report effective protocols that generate a relatively subthreshold margin of LTP induction and maintenance, which are suitable for pharmacology in the LE rat strain mainly used in cognitive studies.

Prescribed Burns in California: A Historical Case Study of the Integration of Scientific Research and Policy

Over the past century, scientific understanding of prescribed burns in California’s forests transitioned from being interpreted as ecologically harmful to highly beneficial. The state’s prescribed burn policies mirrored this evolution. Harold Biswell, a University of California at Berkeley ecologist, studied prescribed burns and became a major advocate for their use during the 1950s and 1960s. Drawing primarily on archival materials from Biswell and the state government, this historical case study presents an example of how a scientist successfully contributed to integrating research into policy and practice through consistent and targeted science communication to gain allies among environmental organizations, local stakeholders, and governments. Though at first isolated by his academic peers for proposing that fire could provide environmental benefits in forests, Biswell continued conducting and sharing his research and findings with academic and non-academic audiences. Over several decades, Biswell engaged in conversations which ultimately advanced policy changes at the state level to expand the use of prescribed burns. Despite lacking a formal role in government, Biswell used his academic platform to promote the policy implications of his research. Current and future researchers can draw on these lessons to advocate effectively for other science-informed policies.

When is enough enough? Accurate measurement and the integrity of scientific research.

At a meeting of the Physical Society of London in 1925 participants expressed their concerns regarding a recent suggestion by the Australian physicist T. H. Laby for replicating the established value of the mechanical equivalent of heat. This rather controversial discussion about the value of redetermining this numerical fact brings to light different understandings of the moral economy of accuracy in scientific work; it signals a distinctive new stage in the historical understanding of accuracy and precision and the moral integrity in conducting research.

Exploration and practice of intelligent manufacturing of electronic information equipment

At present, the global manufacturing industry is accelerating towards the era of digitalization, networking and intelligence. Aiming at the manufacturing characteristics of electronic information equipment, such as the integration of scientific research and production, multi variety and small batch, fast renewal, high coupling of multi disciplines, and huge supply chain, this paper studies and analyzes the technical hotspots of intelligent manufacturing of electronic information equipment, such as 3D printing of mechatronic system structures, design and manufacturing of microsystem, immersive virtual assembly and digital twin. At the same time, based on the guiding ideology of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), the exploration and practice of electronic information equipment design mode, production mode, support mode and management mode are carried out. The research shows that the application of new technology and mode of intelligent manufacturing effectively shortens the development cycle of electronic information equipment, greatly improves the production efficiency and comprehensive utilization of resources, and significantly reduces the operating cost and the rate of defective products.

My first pre-registration: Hints and tips on how to implement pre-registration in your PhD

‘Pre-registration is hard, and worthwhile… [and] improves with practice’(Nosek et al., 2019, pp.815–816)Pre-registration is one of the many new research practices brought in by the wave of open science to increase the integrity, transparency and reliability of scientific research. With the buzz around integrating pre-registration into our research practices and the piling list of new things to learn as a PhD student, it can be quite daunting to complete your first pre-registration. Here are some hints and tips on how to practically approach your first pre-registration that will hopefully show you it is both achievable and worth the investment.

Advancing scientific integrity, transparency, and openness in child development research: Challenges and possible solutions.

Based on the recommendations of a Task Force on Scientific Integrity and Openness it appointed, the Governing Council of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) adopted a Policy on Scientific Integrity and Openness (SRCD, 2019a) and accompanying Author Guidelines on Scientific Integrity and Openness for Publishing in Child Development (SRCD, 2019b). Here we discuss some of the challenges associated with realizing SRCD's vision for a science of child development that is open, transparent, robust, impactful, and conducted with the highest standards of integrity. In identifying the challenges-protecting participants and researchers from harm, respecting diversity, and balancing the benefits of change with the costs -we also offer constructive solutions.

Accelerating the development of Chinese urology in clinical research by taking the advantages and making cooperation

The clinical research is an important cornerstone of medical innovation and development. In the past decade, there have been some breakthrough achievements in the field of urological clinical research internationally. However, there is still a large gap between Chinese urological clinical research and the international level. Urologists across China should improve the clinical research to a new level of awareness, starting with the idea of patients’expectation being our concern, and making clinical research our priority. The multi-center clinical research should be the priority, involving the real-world study, prospective randomized controlled trails, translational medicine, and artificial intelligence, etc. The standardized method must be adopted and the integrity of scientific research should be concerned in the process of clinical research. The clinical research results should not only be published in the international journals, but more importantly be published in the domestic journals. The proposal of publishing the studies on the land of our motherland should be vigorously advocated. Key words: Clinical research; Multicenter; Real-world study; Prospective randomized contro-lled trails; Translational medicine; Artificial intelligence; Research integrity

The Need for a Phenomenology of Academic Activity Under Neoliberalism

Academia has changed quite radically and rapidly in the last 30 years. Universities across the world have embraced a process of neoliberalization and scholars in various disciplines have attempted to track and understand these changes. There is general agreement from multiple disciplines that neoliberalization allows the values, standards, and norms of the business world to suffuse academia. Scholars have raised concerns about how this threatens the integrity of scientific research, affects university governance, and warps the purposes of higher education. In this paper I argue that one of the things that is lacking from these discussions is close phenomenological attention to the qualitative changes to everyday academic activities under neoliberalism. Using phenomenology I show how basic academic activities are fundamentally altered as they are increasingly driven by the need for incessant strategic choices. Reading, writing, presentation and teaching are all radically warped when done strategically.

Smart Specialization as an Innovative Strategy for the Regional Economic Growth: Experience of Central and Eastern European Countries for Ukraine

The initiated processes of reforming the government and public finances in Ukraine have provided real opportunities for increasing the resources for sustainable development of regional economic systems, communities and territories. At the same time, domestic practice shows ineffective mechanisms for implementing the State, regional policy, deepening both interregional and intra-regional asymmetries in terms of socioeconomic development. These aspects highlight the increased interest in the scientific and practical problem of converting opportunities into tools to stimulate economic growth of territories and updating the State Regional Policy of Ukraine, which should be based on the system of multilevel governance of territories and development of its strategic vision, especially in terms of competitive advantages. The purpose of the study is to systematize the experience of strategizing the regions of the EU, Central and Eastern Europe and to carry out a comparative analysis of the choice of priority areas of smart specialization in terms of groups of regions with appropriate economic structure. The object of research in this article are the processes of strategizing the regional development on the basis of smart specialization in Ukraine and the EU Member States. In the course of the research a set of general scientific methods of scientific cognition (system analysis, logical generalization, analogy, comparative analysis) was used, which provided an opportunity to realize the integrity of scientific research. The practices of regional strategy on the basis of smart specialization of Central and Eastern European countries are analyzed. Their economic profile and priorities of reasonable specialization are determined. The peculiarities of the functioning of the economy of the countries / regions selected for analysis are highlighted. Emphasis is placed on the consequences / benefits of implementing innovative strategies for the economic progress of countries / regions. A comparative assessment of the priority areas of smart-specialization of the EU and Ukraine in terms of groups of regions with the appropriate structure of the economy is made. As a result of the study, no unambiguous correspondence was established. Recommendations are given and imperatives are determined, upon which the policy of sustainable growth of the regions of Ukraine should be developed, based on the results of the conducted research.

The 3Rs principles and the validity of scientific research

The 3Rs principles and the validity of scientific research

Practice of improving the efficiency of scientific and technological innovation in hospital from the perspective of modern hospital management

Objective To explore the importance of establishing and improving modern hospital science and technology management system in public hospitals, as well as the ways of establishing such system, analyze the key points that need consideration in order to provide reference for establishing modern hospital science and technology management system in public hospitals. Methods Starting from the reform requirements and perspectives of the construction of modern hospital management system, and based on the theory of innovative governance, this paper probes into the innovative practice and achievements of our hospital in implementing the internal scientific and technological management system of modern hospitals from three aspects: the incentive mechanism, the restraint mechanism and the coordination mechanism of innovative governance of scientific and technological management system. Results Through the establishment and improvement of internal scientific and technological management system, such as reward policies for scientific research work, reward and punishment for papers, layout fee management guidelines, management methods for scientific research funds, project evaluation policies, selection and training of subject leaders, temporary management methods for medical research institutes, and implementation methods for scientific research integrity construction, the effect of talent aggregation is gradually presented, and the discipline, team and technology are stable. Step by step development; innovative achievements are increasingly fruitful, and the quality of connotation is constantly improving. Conclusions The key to the establishment of modern hospital science and technology management system is to continuing innovative exploration of the system of science and technology management and to build a good operation mechanism of science and technology innovation. Key words: Modern hospital management; Science and technology management; System; Innovative governance

China strengthens its campaign against scientific misconduct

Amid increasing attention to scientific research integrity in China, the country has adopted a new set of standards to more clearly define misconduct in publishing journal articles. Experts hope the new clarity will make it easier to discipline researchers who violate the standards. The State Administration of Press and Publication, the agency in charge of China’s publishing sector, released and adopted in July the Academic Publishing Specification—Definition of Academic Misconduct for Journals. Other standards developed by the agency cover citation and translation practices and the use of ancient Chinese. The publishing specification defines and distinguishes plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification. It also addresses inappropriate authorship, duplicate or multiple submissions, and overlapping publications. The standards follow several high-profile incidents of academic misconduct that affected China’s reputation in scientific research. Two years ago, for example, 107 Chinese papers were retracted by T...

JUUL Labs' sponsorship and the scientific integrity of vaping research

JUUL Labs' sponsorship and the scientific integrity of vaping research

Research on scientific research integrity cognition of medical scientific research management workers

Objective To understand the status quo of scientific research integrity cognition and the satisfaction of scientific research integrity construction among medical research management workers. Methods The questionnaire survey was conducted, 115 management workers for research and education from medical schools, research institutes and hospitals were surveyed, and statistic data analysis was conducted. Results The average score of scientific research management workers' knowledge was (43.09±10.41), and the overall awareness rate was 46.77%; Factors that influencing the cognition of integrity include academic qualifications, professional titles, project hosting or participation, paper publication, paper reviewing, and project/science and technology achievement review experience. The overall satisfaction of the status quo of scientific research integrity construction were 41.65%. Medical research management workers thought that the main factors influencing scientific research integrity in medical field were academic evaluation system (81.74%), social environment (78.26%), personal achievement motivation (76.52%) and self-moral accomplishment (73.04%). Conclusions The cognition level of scientific research integrity of medical scientific research management workers is not enough, and the satisfaction of scientific research integrity construction should be improved. It is suggested to strengthen the training and learning of scientific research integrity knowledge of medical scientific research management workers, and enhance the integrity literacy and concept; departments at all levels working together to strengthen the construction of scientific research integrity, update the academic evaluation mechanism, and cultivate a good cultural atmosphere of scientific research integrity. Key words: Medicine; Scientific research management; Scientific research integrity; Cognition; Satisfaction

An analysis of the quality of experimental design and reliability of results in tribology research

In recent years several high profile projects have questioned the repeatability and validity of scientific research in the fields of psychology and medicine. In general, these studies have shown or estimated that less than 50% of published research findings are true or replicable even when no breaches of ethics are made. This high percentage stems from widespread poor study design; either through the use of underpowered studies or designs that allow the introduction of bias into the results.In this work, we have aimed to assess, for the first time, the prevalence of good study design in the field of tribology. A set of simple criteria for factors such as randomisation, blinding, use of control and repeated tests has been made. These criteria have been used in a mass review of the output of five highly regarded tribology journals for the year 2017. In total 379 papers were reviewed by 26 reviewers, 28% of the total output of the journals selected for 2017.Our results show that the prevalence of these simple aspects of study design is poor. Out of 290 experimental studies, 2.2% used any form of blinding, 3.2% used randomisation of either the tests or the test samples, while none randomised both. 30% repeated experiments 3 or more times and 86% of those who repeated tests used single batches of test materials. 4.4% completed statistical tests on their data.Due to the low prevalence of repeated tests and statistical analysis it is impossible to give a realistic indication of the percentage of the published works that are likely to be false positives, however these results compare poorly to other more well studied fields. Finally, recommendations for improved study design for researchers and group design for research group leaders are given.

Self-citations in musculoskeletal radiology: frequency and pattern analysis.

Background Author self-citation can affect quantitative aspects of scientific research. However, little is known about its prevalence in radiology literature. Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and factors associated with author self-citation in musculoskeletal radiology. Material and Methods Retrospective review of bibliographic data in musculoskeletal radiology articles of two separate journals over a 23-month period (January 2015 to November 2016) was performed to determine frequency of author self-citations. Other data included article type, topic, title length, author order, affiliation, and geographic location. Results One-third of all included articles had author self-citations with a mean and median of 2.8 and 2 citations per article. Case reports contained up to 52.4% self-citations (mean = 11.2%, 95% CI = 5.9–16.5). Larger frequencies of self-citations were found among first and second authors and university-affiliated authors. The United States was the most frequent country to produce publications but did not have the highest percentage of self-citations. Conclusion Self-citations in musculoskeletal radiology is no different than other medical fields. It does not currently seem to pose a threat on the integrity of scientific research and is usually needed to expand on previous knowledge. Nevertheless, authors and journals should be aware of implications of abusing such practice on future medical research.

Scientific Integrity Principles and Best Practices: Recommendations from a Scientific Integrity Consortium

A Scientific Integrity Consortium developed a set of recommended principles and best practices that can be used broadly across scientific disciplines as a mechanism for consensus on scientific integrity standards and to better equip scientists to operate in a rapidly changing research environment. The two principles that represent the umbrella under which scientific processes should operate are as follows: (1) Foster a culture of integrity in the scientific process. (2) Evidence-based policy interests may have legitimate roles to play in influencing aspects of the research process, but those roles should not interfere with scientific integrity. The nine best practices for instilling scientific integrity in the implementation of these two overarching principles are (1) Require universal training in robust scientific methods, in the use of appropriate experimental design and statistics, and in responsible research practices for scientists at all levels, with the training content regularly updated and presented by qualified scientists. (2) Strengthen scientific integrity oversight and processes throughout the research continuum with a focus on training in ethics and conduct. (3) Encourage reproducibility of research through transparency. (4) Strive to establish open science as the standard operating procedure throughout the scientific enterprise. (5) Develop and implement educational tools to teach communication skills that uphold scientific integrity. (6) Strive to identify ways to further strengthen the peer review process. (7) Encourage scientific journals to publish unanticipated findings that meet standards of quality and scientific integrity. (8) Seek harmonization and implementation among journals of rapid, consistent, and transparent processes for correction and/or retraction of published papers. (9) Design rigorous and comprehensive evaluation criteria that recognize and reward the highest standards of integrity in scientific research.