5 Ethics and Responsible Conduct in Research
Research (Mis)Conduct
The Inclusive Education Research Lab, and Brock University, are committed to ensuring research integrity, and we take a strong position against research misconduct. We will not tolerate fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. Please make sure to read Brock’s policy on the Responsible Conduct of Research. If there is any element of this policy that you are uncertain about, please discuss this with the Lab Director.
One of the root causes of research misconduct is the perceived pressure to make progress, including in terms of specific external metrics (e.g., publish or present a lot, publish in specific “prestigious” journals). However, in our lab we focus instead on the quality of our work, including and especially the integrity of the scientific process, along with attention to care and collaboration during the research process. Remember that the goal of science is to arrive closer to the truth, to get as close as we can to facts about the world around us, so fabricating or falsifying data isn’t just a disservice to yourself (and one that risks your academic career), it is also a disservice to the field, setting back other researchers who may build on our findings and wasting valuable resources. It is never right and never worth it.
Remember to do work that you are proud of. Scientists have to be careful, so don’t rush your work. Think about it. Implement it. Double and triple check it. Ask others to look at your protocols or data if you need help or something looks off. It’s okay to makes mistakes, but mistakes shouldn’t be because of carelessness or rushed work. And if you do make a mistake, you should inform the Lab Director or Lab Manager (especially if impacts a paper being written up, already submitted, or already accepted). We admit our mistakes, correct them, and move on.
Tri-Council Policy Statement 2 Core Tutorial
The fundamental imperative of research involving human participants is encapsulated in three core principles: respect for persons, concern for welfare, and justice. To this end, Brock University and the Inclusive Education Research Lab endorses and adheres to the principles set out in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS 2 (2022) as approved and amended by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
The online tutorial CORE-2022 (Course on Research Ethics) is an introduction to the TCPS 2 for the research community. It focuses on the TCPS 2 ethics guidance that is applicable to all research involving human participants, regardless of discipline or methodology.
All graduate students involved with human participant research projects are required to complete the TCPS 2 CORE tutorial before commencing research. This applies to all graduate student researchers (