Research integrity

The RMH is committed to supporting a research culture that encourages responsible research practices based on the principles of research integrity. Responsible research practices guide researchers in the conduct of their work, as well as in their engagement with the practical, ethical and intellectual challenges inherent in research.

Principles of research integrity

• Honesty and integrity
• Respect for human research participants, animals and the environment
• Good stewardship of public resources used to conduct research
• Appropriate acknowledgment of the role of others in research
• Responsible communication of research results

RMH responsibilities

• Promoting the responsible conduct of research
• Establishing good governance and management practices
• Providing inductions, training and continuing education for all research staff and students
• Promoting effective mentoring and supervision or research staff and students
• Ensuring researchers have access to a safe working environment in which to conduct each research project

Researcher responsibilities

All RMH staff and affiliates, including students, who are involved in research associated with the RMH should:

• Conduct research safely
• Adhere with ethical standards
• Respect research participants, animal used in research and the environment
• Participate in ongoing training programs including in research integrity
• Provide mentoring, training and support of fellow researchers including new researchers
• Disclose financial or other conflicts of interest
• Employ appropriate methods and use a high level of rigour and objectivity in research activities
• Manage research data responsibly including making and securely storing complete, clear, attributable, accurate and enduring records of all research
• Share findings and data openly, honestly and promptly, as soon as they have established provenance, ownership claims and if there are any barriers to sharing the data such as legal requirements of contracts, intellectual property claims, or the uniqueness of the data may lead to privacy issues
• Appropriately cite and, where applicable, obtain permission for the use of all published and unpublished work
• Acknowledge in research outputs all contributors and contributions to the research described in the research output
• Be listed as an author of a research output only when they have made a significant intellectual or scholarly contribution that they are willing to be accountable for and agree to be listed as an author
• Participate in the peer review process. Give fair, prompt and rigorous evaluations, and respect confidentiality when participating in peer review
• Respect Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander heritage in ways that promote Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultures and understanding and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in the conduct of research in Australia
• Provide complete and accurate information in all research applications including ethical, governance and funding applications and related documents
• Use funds for research in accordance with relevant funding agreements
• Ensure future use of research results are in accordance with applicable requirements and permissions
• Seek advice and discuss any concerns about the conduct of research with research integrity advisers and report any suspected research misconduct

Responsible Conduct of Research

RMH requires research practices conducted under our auspices to be ethically sound and have integrity.

All RMH staff and affiliates, including students, who are involved in research associated with the RMH should be familiar with and must comply with the:

It is the responsibility of staff in supervisory positions to ensure that staff and students involved in research projects at the RMH have the appropriate education, training, experience, mentoring and support to conduct quality research, safely and responsibly.

Who can I talk to for advice and support?

For advice, support or further information about the policies, guidelines and codes that apply to researchers at the RMH, you can talk to the Office for Research or a research integrity advisor.

Contact a research integrity advisor

Research integrity advisors (RIA) are a key resource for advice and support with regard to research integrity and misconduct, and also the RMH’s processes and procedures related to research integrity. RIAs are able to provide advice on research integrity and misconduct matters to any member of the RMH community.

Learn more about our research integrity advisors.