What is Research Integrity? Research integrity as a topic is huge. The main subjects covered include both how the research is done (research ethics) and how it is written up and published (publication ethics). Within each of those umbrella topics there are multiple areas. Research ethics includes experimental design, data collection and analysis, ethics approval (for studies involving humans, animals, endangered plants, museum specimens or anything else which is controlled or restricted) and many other aspects. Publication ethics is just as complex, covering authorship, plagiarism, data storage, reporting guidelines, good citation practice, conflicts of interest, submission best practice, ethical peer review and post-publication matters.

If this seems overwhelming, you are not alone! As a researcher, especially if you are newer in your role or to a particular area of research, there is often very little formal training and you may just be expected to pick up best practices in research integrity as you go. As professional editors and publishers, we know just how often this can be an unreasonable expectation. 

What would you do in the following situation?

You are a junior researcher who has recently published an article with some key results. The article has been well received and citations are starting to appear, which is great for your work and future opportunities. Unfortunately, you discover a mistake in your statistical analysis that changes your results. One of your major conclusions is changed as a result, but the other is still valid. What should you do? Which of the following options do you think is correct?

A: Ignore the issue. One of your conclusions is still valid, and the actual data is correct.
B: Flag to your co-authors, then request a retraction.
C: Comment on the article to indicate your analysis has been updated.
D: Discuss with your co-authors, then contact the Editor of the journal to flag the concern and ask for their input on whether a correction or retraction would be best.
E: Write an updated version of your article using the original data and corrected analyses and submit it to another journal.

Image: a figure in a suit presses a finger to the word fix.

The correct answer is D!

It's not clear at this stage whether a correction or retraction would be the best course. It should be discussed with your co-authors and the journal Editor. The problem should not be ignored, as it may impact the scholarly record and your future reputation. A comment does not reflect the seriousness of the concern and is too easily missed. Equally a retraction may not be the right decision given the underlying data and one main conclusion is unaffected. Trying to get another version published might be considered salami slicing or even duplicate submission/publication, given the likely degree of overlap.

This may not be obvious, especially if you are new to the publishing process. It can also be a hard situation for someone who really needs to demonstrate the impact of that publication for a qualification, funding or job opportunity. To help you with the fundamental aspects of best practice in research integrity, we have developed the following helpful resource:

• Research Integrity: An Introduction for Researchers - This free course is written for researchers, but anyone is welcome to take it! It covers:

• All the basics of research and publication ethics

• Best practice and the potential consequences of not adhering to established standards

• Practical guidance and further information/reading for each topic.

All you need is an email address; the course is completely free to take and you are welcome to come back to it any time. You are also welcome to share it with anyone who you think may benefit or be interested!

If you'd like to see more courses for authors, visit our Author Tutorials page, and watch out for more courses being released soon.