Student Moral Foundations in the Context of Research Misbehavior: An Experimental Study.

The study aimed to examine whether the use of words related to different moral foundations can predict the perceived severity of research misconduct. We gave two groups of participants, undergraduate medical students, the same hypothetical scenarios of research misconduct cases containing words related to different aspects of morality, and asked them to assess how inappropriate the described behavior was. Students ranked the described behaviors differently by the inappropriateness of the behavior, but the group wording was not a significant predictor of appropriateness. The reasons for the ranking were not related to any standardized procedures for research integrity but were related to the moral assessment of the students, which was assessed using qualitative approach. The results of this study implicate that personal moral views are an important part in research integrity training.

Delphi survey on the most promising areas and methods to improve systematic reviews' production and updating.

BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews (SRs) are invaluable evidence syntheses, widely used in biomedicine and other scientific areas. Tremendous resources are being spent on the production and updating of SRs. There is a continuous need to automatize the process and use the workforce and resources to make it faster and more efficient. METHODS: Information gathered by previous EVBRES research was used to construct a questionnaire for round 1 which was partly quantitative, partly qualitative. Fifty five experienced SR authors were invited to participate in a Delphi study (DS) designed to identify the most promising areas and methods to improve the efficient production and updating of SRs. Topic questions focused on which areas of SRs are most time/effort/resource intensive and should be prioritized in further research. Data were analysed using NVivo 12 plus, Microsoft Excel 2013 and SPSS. Thematic analysis findings were used on the topics on which agreement was not reached in round 1 in order to prepare the questionnaire for round 2. RESULTS: Sixty percent (33/55) of the invited participants completed round 1; 44% (24/55) completed round 2. Participants reported average of 13.3 years of experience in conducting SRs (SD 6.8). More than two thirds of the respondents agreed/strongly agreed the following topics should be prioritized: extracting data, literature searching, screening abstracts, obtaining and screening full texts, updating SRs, finding previous SRs, translating non-English studies, synthesizing data, project management, writing the protocol, constructing the search strategy and critically appraising. Participants have not considered following areas as priority: snowballing, GRADE-ing, writing SR, deduplication, formulating SR question, performing meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Data extraction was prioritized by the majority of participants as an area that needs more research/methods development. Quality of available language translating tools has dramatically increased over the years (Google translate, DeepL). The promising new tool for snowballing emerged (Citation Chaser). Automation cannot substitute human judgement where complex decisions are needed (GRADE-ing). TRIAL REGISTRATION: Study protocol was registered at https://osf.io/bp2hu/ .

Perception of organizational climate by university staff and students in medicine and humanities: A qualitative study.

Organizational climate and culture are important for research organizations because they foster research integrity and responsible conduct of research, reduce questionable research practices, and improve job satisfaction. The aim of our study was to explore how employees and students perceive organizational climate and its consequences in the university setting. We conducted semi-structured interviews with senior students and employees (teaching and non-teaching staff) from two different university schools: School of Medicine and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Participants were asked questions regarding perceived climate, working environment, and the role of the institution. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis approach. Three themes were identified. The first theme addressed the difference in the perception and understanding of organizational climate. The second theme dealt with institutional issues emanating from organizational climate. The third theme described the behavior of stakeholders in the formation of organizational climate. Organizational climate is important concept in academic organizations as it influences both employees, particularly early career researchers, and students. Institutional leadership can strongly influence organizational climate, which can in turn affect job and job satisfaction. Due to the importance of personal morality on everyday decision-making, virtue-based research integrity training could be useful in improving academic institutions' organizational climate.

Creating research ethics and integrity country report cards: Case study from Europe.

Structures for and practices of research integrity (RI) and research ethics (RE) differ among countries. This study analyzed the processes and structures for RI and RE in Europe, following the framework developed at the World Conferences on Research Integrity. We present RI and RE Country Report Cards for 16 European countries, which included the information on RI and RE structures, processes and outcomes. While some of the countries are front-runners when it comes to RI and RE, with well-established and continually developing policies and structures, others are just starting their journey in RI and RE. Although RI and RE contextual divergences must be taken into account, a level of harmonization among the countries is necessary so that researchers working in the European area can similarly handle RI and RE issues and have similar expectations regardless of the organization in which they work. RI and RE Country Report Cards can be a tool to monitor, compare, and strengthen RE and integrity across countries through empowerment and inspiration by examples of good practices and developed systems.

Development and implementation of research integrity guidance documents: Explorative interviews with research integrity experts.

Research integrity (RI) guidance documents often lack sufficient details on handling specific RI issues causing the lack of harmonized approaches to RI and opening the way to research misconduct and other detrimental research practices. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are developed and implemented by organizations for ensuring the uniformity and quality of performed actions. This study aimed to explore stakeholders' opinions on SOPs for RI, factors influencing the implementation of RI guidance documents and practices, and ideas for improvements in the RI field. We conducted semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from different groups. Data were analyzed using the reflexive thematic analysis approach, and three themes were developed. The first theme addressed participants' knowledge and perceptions on SOPs for RI and their impact on RI promotion and implementation. The second theme described different factors that have a positive or negative impact on the implementation of RI and RI guidance documents and practices, while the third theme addressed needed changes and ideas for improvements in the RI field. Participants considered SOPs valuable for RI promotion. SOPs should be developed based on and consistent with more general and aspirational guidance and through the dialogue with researchers and other stakeholders, to ensure their relevancy.

Development of consensus on essential virtues for ethics and research integrity training using a modified Delphi approach.

Most ethics and research integrity (ERI) training approaches are based on teaching moral rules, duties or responsibilities, often not sufficiently addressing virtue-based ethics. This study aimed to obtain a consensus among relevant experts on the importance of essential virtues for ERI training and their acquisitions. A modified Delphi consensus process was conducted in three rounds; 31 ERI experts participated in Round 1 and 23 in Round 2 and Round 3. Based on findings generated from qualitative data in Round 1, a structured questionnaire with 90 different statements grouped under five domains was developed for Round 2 and Round 3. After the final round, a consensus was achieved on two-thirds of statements included in this study. The experts agreed that virtues are based on learned and reflected attitudes and that the appropriate direction to acquire research virtues is through continuing education using case studies and discussions based on real-life scenarios. Furthermore, the consensus was obtained on 35 scientific virtues that should be stimulated in ERI training, prioritizing honesty, integrity, accountability, criticism and fairness as the most essential scientific virtues for good research practice. These results should be considered in developing or adjusting the ERI training program and materials.

Perspectives of key stakeholders on essential virtues for good scientific practice in research areas.

In contrast to the principle-based approach to ethics and research integrity (ERI) training, which stresses the importance of following moral rules, the virtue-based approach focuses on developing good character traits. This study has aimed to explore what virtues mean in scientific practice and their suitable place in ERI training, using a qualitative approach. Two face-to-face focus group discussions were conducted with 21 participants. Heterogeneous purposive sampling was used to reach participants from different countries, organization types (academia, research, publishing, private sector), scientific disciplines and stages of their scientific careers. Data generated during the focus group discussions were analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach, and three main themes were developed. The first theme addressed the relativity of virtue meanings because the participants differed in their definitions and understandings of the concept of virtue. The second theme referred to the acquisition of virtues through social interactions because participants saw virtues mostly as social constructs acquired through socialization and education. The third theme addressed the differences in the importance of particular virtues in research. Participants felt that particular virtues were more important than others because some of them are necessary for responsible research, and some are not.

Aggreression in the working envirnoment: a cross-sectoral survey in Croatia.

BACKGROUND: Workplace aggression constitutes a serious problem in individual, organizational and social cause-effect relations. The aim is to determine the prevalence of such aggression on the pilot sample to test the appropriateness of the research design for the further conduct of a national survey on the specified topic. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The sample included 113 employees in the city of Split, deployed within the public, profit and non-profit sectors. The research was conducted through an online survey. The questionnaire consisted of pre-coded questions on the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and their perception of interrelations with colleagues and clients/customers of products and services, exposure to various forms of physical and verbal aggression and the frequency of somatic and psychical problems caused by the workplace conditions and interrelations in this context. RESULTS: Although participants did not suffer direct physical assault from associates, and only two of them have experienced it from clients/customers, they emphasize the frequency of psychical workplace abuse through more subtle forms of physical and verbal aggression.The training of employees at all hierarchical levels is required for the better understanding of the roles of their associates and clients/customers. Its effects strengthen their mutual respect, tolerance and solidarity. In this way, the interrelations that many respondents do not see as good or excellent can be improved, hence improving the prevention of aggression. CONCLUSIONS: The study of aggression should include a broader social context. Aggression tends towards a quantitative and qualitative expansion in different environments. When individuals seek some benefit for themselves in a dubious way, while neglecting others, aggressive acts are foreseeable. Therefore, Croatian society has the foundation for aggressive behavior, as it is unable to make the consensual practice of a moral, political and economic recovery.