Do investigations into research misconduct allegations need better standards? The Association for the Promotion of Research Integrity (APRIN) in Japan, a group of volunteers who “commit themselves to the promotion of research of high integrity” and provide “e-learning material for research ethics education,” thinks so. Today, we present a guest post by Iekuni Ichikawa, who chaired an APRIN committee that recently came up with a new checklist for such investigations, about the effort.
The procedures currently employed by various institutions in Japan are highly variable; hence there is a risk that complainants or respondents might be treated unfairly and that the public might not be informed of the facts of the matters. We organized the Research Misconduct Investigation Standardization Committee of APRIN in July 2017 to propose standardized procedures for handling investigations of alleged research misconduct. Here, we present the “Checklist for Investigating Allegations of Research Misconduct,” the fruits of our discussions.
The List
Our “Checklist for Investigating Allegations of Research Misconduct” (hereafter, The List) describes critical points for each stage of investigations in chronological order starting from receiving allegations through preparing final reports. The List further calls attention to “Actions,” reminding, for instance, about recommending the suspension of the use of outside funds at an appropriate time, and to “Conformity with rules,” which emphasizes that investigations should conform to rules and regulations drawn up by research organization, government ministries, and funding agencies. As such, The List also serves as a tool for self-checking when preparing reports. The applicability of The List is not limited to medical and life sciences; it is intended for use in all areas of research, including science, technology, humanities, and social sciences.
In preparing The List, we referred to “the Guidelines for Responding to Misconduct in Research” from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (effective August 26, 2014) and the article, “Institutional research misconduct reports need more credibility” (Gunsalus et al. JAMA 319: 1315-1316, 2018, published as a statement of the Expert Meeting held in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. in December 2017). This article presents a “Peer Review Form for Research Integrity Investigation Reports” which lists key aspects of investigation reports for quality evaluation. In contrast, The List itemizes critical issues that must be considered when initiating, conducting and reporting the results of investigations.
We wish to add that The List will require revision in the future as the concept of research misconduct changes along with methods of research.
About APRIN
APRIN was founded in April 2016 by volunteers who commit themselves to the promotion of research of high integrity. APRIN’s activities include, among others, providing e-learning material for research ethics education.
