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AMSRA in brief AMSRA “Ainshams Medical Students Research Association” is a non-profit entity founded in May 2012 to mark and create a revolutionary change in the field of medical research.
Science … Procession … Excellence These are not just words, but rather a mission; a reflection of a vision and a dream of an outstanding medical future, nourished by a strong determination to reach new horizons. This is not just an idea or a thought, AMSRA “Ainshams Medical Students Research Association ” is a non-profit entity founded in May 2012 to mark and create a revolutionary change in the field of medical research. Our goal is to escalate clinical research education among medical students, enabling them to keep pace with the constantly increasing scientific breakthroughs over the world. We aim at nourishing the energy and creativity of Ain-sham students by providing them with the appropriate research training, as well as collaborating with international scientific societies and universities. We believe that improving students' skills and exposing them to different settings and experiences will help raise their capabilities, thus creating bridges between them and their professors, allowing the latter to better convey and share their expertise with those students. By improving clinical research we are cultivating and refining a better healthcare system in Egypt. With science we do not only contribute in the development our country, but we also build a new life for us and for the generations to come.
Why so enthusiastic? We witness a critical time for our country, our people and our civilization. For a quite long interval of time, Egypt has been pushed out of the field of scientific research delaying us and preventing us from coping with the international trend. If AMSRA is going to be the first/only trial to change the current situation, we will be satisfied, and if it is going to be an ignition point for other projects, we will be delighted but, either way we are proud of taking initiative.
Edited by
Supervised By
Ibrahim M. Abdelmone’m Sha'arawi Medical student – Ain Shams university
Dr. Mohamed El Sayed El Shinnawi AMSRA Chairman Associate Professor of General Surgery Ain Shams university.
Mohamed Yousef Saad Medical student – Ain Shams university Mohamed M. Hany Medical student – Ain Shams university Yosif Mohamed Ali Medical student – Ain Shams university
Reviewed & Granted by :
Ghada Moharam Mohemed Medical student – Ain Shams university Omar M. ElTawansy Medical student – Ain Shams university Marwa Hosni Bedair Medical student – Ain Shams university Karim Osama Ibrahim Medical student – Ain Shams university
Designed By Mahmoud Mohamed AbdelWahab Medical student – Ain Shams university Mahmoud Montaser Medical student – Ain Shams university
“It is a non-profit organization in the United States. Members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine". As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”
Preface
Although filled with great minds and brilliant ideas, developing countries -like Egypt- face a substantial problem that lies in the fact that undergraduates in the scientific field have superficial knowledge about the RCR (Responsible Conduct of Research). Little or no teaching about the topic occurs in the different scientific schools around the country. Consequently, it is our hope that one day such knowledge could be available for every student in the field, and that it could be further implemented in the curricula of all scientific schools in Egypt.
Yousef A. Fouad Medical Student – Ainshams University
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Acknowledgment This booklet would not have been possible without the help of many people. The editors wish to express their gratitude to Reham SalahEldin, Our AMSRA Great Fundraising Coordinator and her Team members; Amira El Shamy , Mahmoud Shokri , Ibrahim Osama , Mohamed Fouda and Omar El-Mokhtar .
AMSRA on stage mission wouldn't be accomplished without the vision and guidelines of PR Coordinator, Salma M. Gouda and PR members ; Arwa Hazem , Mai Adel , Reem Sultan , Nouran Sorour , Omar Tag , Mohamed Tag , Mohamed Nabil , Amr Abdelmone'em and Hend Ibrahim . Thank you for sharing your efforts and invaluable assistance.
We can't say thank you enough for Belal N. Mahfouz and Karim Osama our AMSRA Cofounder/CEOs for tremendous support and help. Not forgetting to Mention Dr. Mohamed El-Shinnawy who always been there and for providing the financial means to accomplish this event, and all members who work in different positions in AMSRA
we would like to Convey our gratitude to Mohmoud Abdel-wahab IT member and Coordinator for the event , Ahmed Maged Kassab the IT Coordinator of AMSRA and the members who are always behind the scene; Aya Osama Kassem , Mohamed Osama El-Arrosi , Mahmoud Montaser and Mohamed Abo El-Fadl.
Finally, an honorable mention goes to our AMSRA Members in Each Committee
Objectives
[1] To conduct research projects without plagiarism, falsification or fabrication. [2] To execute research projects in a way that protects the human subjects and respects their rights. [3] While performing a research on animal subjects, the executive personnel become able to achieve reasonable beneficence for the human being, and animals as well. [4] To write the authors of a research project in a correct manner [5] To be able to manage the data used in a research project and the result obtained. [6] To build a clear, correct and righteous relationship between mentor and trainees or between members in collaborative teams while conducting a research project. [7] To solve any conflict either financial, work commitments or intellectual and personal matters while conducting a research project. [8] To act efficiently while submitting research paper in a journal for peer reviewing by being aware of this process.
Table of contents : 1. Research Misconduct:
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2. Protecting human subjects in research
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3. Animal Welfare
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4. Authorship
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5. Data management
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6. Mentor and trainee responsibilities
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7. Conflict of interests and Commitment
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8. Peer Review
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9. Collaborative Science
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10. Dual use of Research
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11. Special issues concerning Responsible Conduct of Research
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch
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Overview of Research Values: Responsible conduct in research is based on many of the same human values that apply in daily life, but these values have specific implication in research context. These values are: Honesty: when doing research, you must be honest about the research when communicating it with others, about research results and its applications without deception.
Fairness: Be fair whether in citing a colleague’s idea or when mentoring a student in the proper conduct of research
Objectivity: Look beyond your preconception and biases to the evidence that justifies the conclusion.
Reliability: Research communities over years have developed methods to enhance the reliability of their results
Skepticism: Allegiance to empirical evidence requires that researchers maintain a degree of toward research results and conclusions so that results and explanations are continually reexamined and improved.
Accountability: Researcher is accountable to other researchers, the society and the nature, the must demonstrate that their results or statement are reliable
Openness: Researcher must be opened with others, he must consider “what if I am wrong” so he must convey o others their conclusions and their evidence so that those conclusion could be examined and extended, this require a good storage of data and making it available to others.
Trust: It is a fundamental characteristic of the research enterprise. Researchers expect that their colleagues will act in accord with these values. When a researcher violates one of the values, that person’s trustworthiness is diminished among other researchers. In addition, the public’s trust in research can be damaged.
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Definition of RCR It’s the awareness and application of norms and ethical principles in all aspects of scientific research. What started all that? (The Beginning) After World War II, Nazi doctors committed a series of crimes against humanity. They tortured, maimed, and even led to the killing of war prisoners by conducting deadly experiments on them in the name of science. The Nuremberg trials were conducted afterwards to convict those doctors. In order to do that the Nuremberg Code, the first ethical guidelines for conducting research, came to light followed by Helsinki declaration which addressed the vulnerabilities of human subjects involved in clinical research project, and Belmont report focusing on the concepts of informed consent, beneficence, and justice. Topics covered by RCR: 1.
Research Misconduct
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Research on human subjects
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Research on animal subjects
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Authorship
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Data management and collection
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Mentoring
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Conflict of interests
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Peer Review
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Collaborative Science
10. Dual use of research
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Research Misconduct: Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.
1. Fabrication Is making up data or results and recording or reporting them. Examples of Fabrication: • Creating a data set for an experiment that was never actually conducted. •
Adding fictitious data to a real data set collected during an actual experiment for the purpose of providing additional statistical validity; and
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Inserting a clinical note into the research record to indicate compliance with an element of the protocol.
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Completing a questionnaire for a fictitious subject that was never interviewed.
2. Falsification Is a manipulating research material, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record. Falsification also includes the selective omission/deletion/suppression of conflicting data without scientific or statistical justification.
Examples of Falsification:
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Altering data to render a modification of the variances in the data.
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Falsifying dates and experimental procedures.
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Misrepresenting results from statistical analysis.
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Misrepresenting the methods of an experiment such as the model (e.g., cell line) used to conduct the experiments. Falsifying research accomplishments by publishing the same research results in multiple papers (self-plagiarism).
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch •
Misrepresenting the materials or methods of a research study in a published paper.
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Providing false statements about the extent of a research study in an abstract submitted for publication and oral presentation at a professional society meeting.
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Falsifying telephone call attempts to collect data for a survey study.
Examples of Falsification in Clinical Studies: •
Substituting one subject's record for that of another subject.
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Falsely reporting to a data coordinating center that certain clinical trial staff, who was certified to perform the procedures on the subjects, had done so, when they had not.
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Altering the dates and results from subjects' eligibility visits.
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Altering the dates on patient screening logs and/or submitting the same log with altered dates on multiple occasions;
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Failing to update the patients' status and representing data from prior contacts as being current.
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Altering the results of particular tests on blood samples to show that the test accurately predicted a disease or relapse.
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Backdating follow-up interviews to fit the time window determined by the study protocol
Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion.
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3. Plagiarism Is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property and is not unlike stealing from a commercial business? A special case of plagiarism is the unacceptable practices of "self-plagiarism" in which an author will use segments of his/her own published material (e.g., the methods section of a scientific paper) in a new publication without reference. Plagiarism-Fabrication - the act of taking an unrelated figure from an unrelated publication and reproducing it exactly in a new publication (claiming that it represents new data). Recent papers from the University of Cordoba have come to light showing how this can go undetected and unchallenged for years. What Causes Research Misconduct? Why would a person that is considered top in his/her field fabricate results or falsify data? This is a hard question to answer. Pride may be a primary motivator. Perhaps the researchers pride is such that they just have to be right. It may be that they so believe in the hypothesis and believe that it should be an accepted theory that they are willing to risk their career on it. Money is also a huge motivator, funding is normally based on results, unfortunately. If the researcher feels that funding may be cut if the results cannot be proven in the favor of the financer of the project this may promote dishonesty in reporting.
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch The researcher may perceive that falsifying data may not impact the overall study. It may also be perceived that falsifying evidence that supports the actual outcome does not actually impact the outcome and is not truly dishonest but more of a means to ramp up the actual findings. There may even be instances where the researcher is dependent upon assistants for valid reporting and this information may be falsified. If the head researcher doe not check the data as presented and uses that data to report the findings, and the data is not accurate, this too is considered scientific falsification.
How to avoid Misconduct? 1. Understand why students cheat. 2. Educate yourself about plagiarism 3. Educate your students about plagiarism 4. Discuss the benefits of citing sources. 5. Make the penalties clear.
Researchers have an obligation to themselves, their colleagues, and society to avoid both the egregious transgressions of falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism and the other forms of irresponsible conduct that can undermine the research enterprise.
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Protecting human subjects in research
According to the US department of health and human services, human research subject is a living individual about whom a research investigator (whether a professional or a student) obtains data through: 1) Intervention or interaction with the individual, or 2) Identifiable private information
Human subject rights
Voluntary, informed consent
Respect for persons: treated as autonomous agents
The right to end participation in research at any time
Right to safeguard integrity
Benefits should outweigh cost
Protection from physical, mental and emotional harm
Access to information regarding research
Protection of privacy and well-being
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch Ethical guidelines in protecting the human subjects a.
Nuremberg code: The Nuremberg Code is a set of research ethics principles for human experimentation set as a result of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials at the end of the Second World War
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Belmont report: The purpose of The Belmont Report is to protect participants and subjects in the clinical trials and research studies involving ethics and health care research. The Belmont Report consists of 3 principles which are justice which is the requirement to acknowledge autonomy and the requirement to protect those with diminished autonomy, beneficence and respect for persons
Requirements for approval of research with human subjects
Categories of research that may receive Exempt Status
Procedures for working with minors and other protected populations
The content and documentation of informed consent
Ongoing review policies
What are the researcher’s responsibilities? In carrying out any research work with human subjects, it is the responsibility of the researcher to:
Know, understand and adhere to the ethical principles and applicable local and institutional regulations, relating to research activities with human subjects.
Train and supervise research staff in all aspects of the ethics and individual responsibilities of research involving human subjects
Fully inform potential subjects of the purpose and nature of the research work in which they are being asked to participate (what will be involved in participation, that under all circumstances participation is fully voluntary,
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and that participants are entitled to protection of their privacy) and ensure appropriate consent for all subjects.
Animal Welfare Animal research is carefully regulated as human researches, Animals may benefit from the information gained through animal experimentation and some research with animals is conducted specifically for the purpose of improving animal health. But most animal research is conducted primarily for the benefit of humans, not animals. And because you can’t get a consent from animals it’s important before the start , familiarize yourself with your responsibilities and check with someone in a position of authority before making any plans.
RULES, POLICIES& GUIDELINES 1.
Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (1996) The purpose of the Guide is to assist institutions in caring for and using animals in ways judged to be scientifically, technically, and humanely appropriate. The Guide is also intended to assist investigators in fulfilling their obligation to plan and conduct animal experiments in accord with the highest scientific, humane, and ethical principles.
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US Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training
Researchers should: a. b. c. d. e.
Follow the rules and regulations for the transportation, care, and use of animals. Design and perform research with consideration of relevance to human or animal health, the advancement of knowledge, or the good of society; Use appropriate species, quality, and the minimum number of animals to obtain valid results, and consider non-animal models; Avoid or minimize pain, discomfort, and distress when consistent with sound scientific practices. Use appropriate sedation, analgesia, or anesthesia;
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch f. g. h. i.
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Painlessly kill animals that will suffer severe or chronic pain or distress that cannot be relieved. Feed and house animals appropriately and provide veterinary care as indicated; Assure that everyone who is responsible for the care and treatment of animals during the research is appropriately qualified and trained; and Defer any exceptions to these principles to the appropriate IACUC.
Broader responsibilities
Even with all of the care and review that currently is used to assure the responsible use of animals in research, animal research is still controversial and raises concerns that cannot easily be set aside.
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Pain and suffering
Some experimental information cannot be gained without subjecting animals to pain and suffering.. This can be done by administering mild electric shocks, forcing animals such as rats to swim until they reach exhaustion, or subjecting them to other traumatic treatments.
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Concern for different species There is widespread agreement that some animals, such as primates and household pets, deserve more protection than other animals, such as worms and clams. What moral considerations set one species apart from another when making decisions about the use to which it can be put in experiments?
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Unnecessary experiments Animals are used to test the safety of experimental drugs, but should they also be used to test the toxicity of chemicals or cosmetics (as once was common, but has largely been abandoned)?
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Authorship Authors names are found in the beginning of each paper, they refer to who have conducted the research. They tell us who is responsible for the research and whom we can ask for an interpretation for anything in the paper.
Is anyone has contributed to the paper called an author? Actually not every contributor to the paper is called an author, an author is the one who has a significant contribution, and this significance varies from one journal to the other, for less contribution the name is listed under acknowledgments.
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ICMJE Statement on Authorship An “author� is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a published study, Authorship credit should be based on 1) Substantial contributions to conception and design or acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data. 2) Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content. 3) Final approval of the version to be published. -
Authors should meet conditions 1, 2, and 3.
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All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed.
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Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch In what order are the authors names listed Author names are usually listed according to importance; also both the first and the last names of the authors are special. Some journals have their rules in determining the order of names; however there are no specific rules and the order of names is only the coauthors' responsibility
Corresponding or primary author Some journals require a corresponding or a primary author who is responsible for the accuracy of data in the paper and the names listed, also for responding to any inquiry concerning the paper.
Honorary authorship Honorary authorship is putting a person's name as an author while not deserving that. It is considered a type of misconduct. A department chair or someone who provided fund for the research may ask to put his name as an author, putting the name of one of those as an author could be done only if they have a significant contribution (as previously mentioned) otherwise, it is considered a misconduct.
Data management Data management issues are integral to all core areas of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) instruction, and everyone involved in research-related activities should be aware of these issues to conduct and support research responsibly. What constitutes research data can often be discipline-specific, but in general “data management issues� refer to the way you deal with any information related to your research including data selection, collection, analysis, handling, reporting and publishing, and data ownership issues.
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Data Selection Issues should be aware of when selecting data include: ● The appropriate type and sources of data which permit investigators to adequately answer the stated research questions ● suitable procedures in order to obtain a representative sample ● There should be compatibility between the type/source of data and the mechanisms to collect it.
Data Collection • •
Accurate data collection is essential to maintaining the integrity of research. Issues related to maintaining integrity of data collection:
The primary rationale for preserving data integrity is to support the detection of errors in the data collection process, whether they are made intentionally (deliberate falsifications) or not (systematic or random errors).
Two approaches that can preserve data integrity and ensure the scientific validity of study results. Each approach is implemented at different points in the research timeline (Whitney, Lind, Wahl, 1998): 1 2
Quality assurance - activities that take place before data collection begins Quality control - activities that take place during and after data collection.
Data Analysis
Data analysis issues include: ● ● ●
Having the necessary skills to analyze Concurrently selecting data collection methods and appropriate analysis Following acceptable norms for disciplines
Data Handling
Issues that should be considered in ensuring integrity of data handled include the following:
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Type of data involved in the research. Type of media containing data and its storage capacity, handling and storage requirements, reliability etc... Data handling responsibilities/privileges, that is, who can handle which portion of data, at what point during the project, for what purpose, etc.
Data handling procedures that describe how long the data should be kept, and when, how, and who should handle data for storage.
Data Reporting & Publishing
Issues in data reporting and publishing
There are often factors in research settings that can result in compromises to data integrity due to irresponsible act of publishing data or information that is not yet well reviewed , such factors may include Publication pressure ,Professional competition ,Lack of formal mentoring ,Lack of penalties ,Little chance of getting caught and Bad examples from mentors (Price, Drake, Islam, 2001).
Data Ownership
Data ownership is important for responsible data sharing which in turn is important for the science and society; for example ; shared data may be used for, a. Reanalysis to verify or refute reported results. b. Alternative analyses to refine results. c. Analyses to check if the results are robust to varying assumption. d. The general consensus of science emphasizes the principle of openness (Panel Sci. Responsible. Conduct Res. 1992). Thus, sharing data has a number of benefits to society in general and protecting the integrity of scientific data in particular.
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Along with the mentioned topics, Proper conceptualization of a research project and the use of appropriate research methods along with adequate training of all those staff directly and indirectly involved in the research project will ensure data integrity. Those who are new to a research area or particular research methods can unintentionally commit mistakes or misuse research methods that can impact the integrity of research data along with every other aspect of a project. But issues related to conceptualization of research and research methods are difficult to cover in the core modules of RCR instruction due to the project-specific nature of such issues.
Mentor and trainee responsibilities Mentor: is a person who helps another person to develop knowledge at area of interest. Mentor may be a doctor, fellow student, or a friend. Trainee: is the one learning from the mentor. This relationship is important and useful for both, though it’s complex and brings many conflicts into play, so there must be basic rules to prevent such problems.
What you need to know as a trainee? Rights:
How much time they will be expected to spend on their mentor’s i research? The criteria that will be used for judging performance and form the basis of letters of recommendation? How responsibilities are shared or divided in the research setting? Standard operating procedures, such as the way data are recorded and interpreted? How credit is assigned, that is, how authorship and ownership are established? The mentor should also provide good research environment to emphasize collaboration and competition with Provision of equal treatment, also he should Train and educate in the responsible conduct of research. And for the final aim of this relationship to be achieved the mentor should make sure the trainee develops into a responsible researcher.
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch Duties:
Do assigned work in a conscientious way. Respect the authority of others working in the research setting. Follow research regulations and research protocols. Live by agreements established for authorship and ownership.
Conflict of interests and Commitment It’s a situation in which in which financial or other personal considerations can compromise person’s professional judgment, objectivity and obligations in a particular research project. Conflict of interests could present in 3 important forms: Financial gain, work commitment, personal and intellectual matters
Financial gain Researchers are permitted to benefit financially from their work. In 1980, a congressional law known as the Bayh-Dole Act stated that researchers and research institutions are allowed to use copyrights, and licenses to put research ideas to use for the good of the public. Prior to this act, there were no uniform policies regulating the ownership of ideas developed with public funding. Financial interests should not influence the research’s obligation to truth and honesty, but they may if they were significant e.g. a university researcher, who owns stocks at a certain pharmaceutical company, might be conflicted if he was asked to report accurate data that might harm the stocks prices.
Work commitment: At any time, a researcher may be asked to work on one or more funded projects, serve as a consultant or employee in a private company, teach and advice students, etc. Researcher should be careful that these commitments do not inappropriately interfere with one another.
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Personal and Intellectual matters: Researchers should be careful to avoid making judgments or presenting conclusions based solely on personal opinion or affiliations rather than on scientific evidence Personal conflicts are usually the easiest to identify and resolve. Generally, researchers should not serve as reviewers for grants and publications submitted by close colleagues and students On the other hand, intellectual conflicts are more difficult to identify; if a researcher holds strong personal views on the importance of a particular area of research or strong moral convictions that could influence a researcher’s scientific opinions, they should be disclosed so that others can take them into consideration when judging the researcher’s statements
Managing significant conflicts It means finding a way to assure that the interests do not adversely influence the research This could be achieved by: Requiring full disclosure of all interests. Monitoring the research or checking research results for accuracy and objectivity. Removing the person with the conflict from crucial steps in the research process.
Peer Review Although peer review have existed for more than 300 years, people didn’t know much about it until December 2005, South Korean scientist Dr. Hwang Woo Suk
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch stunned the world by admitting that his stem cell research that was supposed to revolutionize health care by helping to cure diseases ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's used fabricated data, although it has been published in the prestigious U.S journal “Science�. So there were a lot of reports not only questioning Dr.Hwang, his research and the journal but also the way of conducting science. To define peer review, it is a process whereby a scientist's research is assessed for quality before it is funded or published. The "peer" in peer review means that the scientist in question will submit his work to other experts in the field to comment on the quality, significance and originality of the research. Reviewers aren't the ultimate arbiters about whether research should be funded or published, but their comments inform the decision makers. It all starts with a scientist and his research. When the research is completed, the scientist writes a paper describing the experimental procedure and the results. He then submits it to a journal that publishes papers in his field. Then the path to acceptance begins with the journal editors. They first review the submission to make sure it fits both the journal's subject-matter focus and its editorial platform. Then after passing the editors initial evaluation the research is passed to a team of reviewers who read it closely and provide individual critiques, usually within two to four weeks. Peer review could be single blinded, where the reviewers know who is the editors but not vice-versa, or double blinded in which the identities of both author and reviewers are hidden. Some journals have adopted the open peer review model where there are no hidden identities to force the reviewers to give more thoughtful critiques. Peer review is a quality-control system. When a team of reviewers gives a green light to a particular paper, they are saying the science described in the paper is valid and trustworthy.
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For authors, peer review provides a patina of respectability on their work. A scientist who publishes in his field's most prestigious journal gets to bask in the glow of the publication's reputation.
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For journal editors, peer review informs their decision-making process. An editor can publish a paper with much greater confidence.
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For other scientists, peer review acts as a mechanism to help prioritize what they read.
However, peer review has some limitations. Studies on it have proved that Reviewers are much more likely to find and flag plagiarism than falsified data. Also peer review is accused of slowing down advances in scientific and medical knowledge. It can take a year for an article to move through the peer-review system and become published. Researchers have a responsibility to participate in the review of research proposals and not to abuse the trust on which the review process is based. They should disclose conflicts of interest and treat colleagues fairly in reviewing their ideas. Research sponsors should use international reviewers where feasible.
Collaborative Science
Collaboration is “working together”. in contrast to mentor/trainee relationship ,collaboration means a group of researchers who are all more or less equal partners working on a common, “collaborative” project. While collaboration in research is essential, it may raise many problems between researchers, so roles must be established as early as possible. Roles for effective collaboration:
Role of each partner must be established. Goals and outcomes of the research must be discussed. Criteria for ranking authors.
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Who will draft the publication, speak in public. Also, good management is essential for effective collaboration, management of financial issues, compliance, and adequate training of research staff. Formal agreements may be needed to establish this collaborative research.
Many of these points seem clear and obvious, but they easily get missed in every day research practice. Special situations concerning international collaboration:
There are two cases: -
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The first case, when a research team invites a foreign colleague, and in such case, the guest must follow the research conduct rules of the host institute. The second one, when there is collaboration between two teams of different countries, here the professional codes of ethics or governmental regulations may contradict, so the codes and legal standards they will follow must be determined first.
Dual use of Research What is Dual-Use? The concept is that “the same piece of scientific research can be used for bad as well as good purposes”. This means that well-intentioned research with beneficial outcomes may end up being misused for malicious purposes by third party.
How to prevent dual use? 1. 2.
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Develop appropriate Policies and Bio-risk Management Plans that include Dual Use Research of Concern. Develop screening methods for early detection of researches that is potential for misuse.
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Dual use example : Mouse pox experiment: Aim of the study: -
Induction of infertility in mice to control mouse population in Australia. Insertion of the IL-4 gene into mousepox virus created super-virulence that could kill vaccinated mice. Dual-use implications: - Potential application of knowledge to human viruses such as Smallpox.
Researchers should bear in mind the possible consequences of their work, including harmful consequences, in planning research projects.
Special issues concerning Responsible Conduct of Research ďƒ˜
How to respond to an act of Irresponsible Research Practices? Irresponsible practices done by a member in a research team must be reported, this is done by talking to someone else in the team who is responsible for that. Some institutions have independent ombudsmen, offices, individuals responsible for dealing with irresponsible practices. If someone is accused of doing such practices, they must be treated fairly. Many institutions cover up such incidents of misconduct, but it is better to deal with them openly, and that makes the institution stronger.
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Communicating with Policy Makers and the Public Research has a great influence over the society, so public communication with those who are outside the field is essential. Researchers must be open and honest in communicating the results to the public and policy makers.
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Re sp on sib l e Con d u ct o f Re s ea rch Researchers should provide their advice to the government and other policy makers in documents that differ from research articles but still based on evidence and peer reviewed either formally or informally. ďƒ˜
Research ideas and fair accreditation: Research ideas have many sources, some emerge logically from the forward progress of a research program or it could be the product of long and careful individual thought about how to solve a problem. However, when research ideas are discussed in public, they become part of the collective knowledge of the research community. But fairness dictates that individual researchers be acknowledged for their contributions. On the other hand, discussions in private communications as grant proposals or meetings of a research group. Generally deserve to remain privileged as researchers work out the difficult problems associated with gaining reliable knowledge. In particular, the reviewers of grant applications are expected to maintain confidentiality.
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Ainshams Medical Student Research Association
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http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm http://uresearch.miami.edu/?p=175 http://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/ucla/chapter2/page00.htm Responsible conduct of research by adile.shamoo and david b. resnik, oup 2009 Steneck, N. H. (n.d.).Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research. http://ori.dhhs.gov/education/products/n_illinois_u/datamanagement/dotopic. html ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research/ Mentor and Trainee Responsibilities. http://www.fda.gov/ScienceResearch/SpecialTopics/RunningClinicalTrials/ GuidancesInformationSheetsandNotices/ucm113709.htm http://wwwpersonal.umich.edu/~nsteneck/researchintegrity/RCRintro_Spanish/c04/b5c4 .html http://www.gradstudies.fsu.edu/Academics-Research/Research-andScholarly-Integrity/Info-by-Topic-Area/Conflicts-of-Interest Hwang WS, Ryu YJ, Park JH, Park ES, Lee EG, Koo JM. Evidence of a Pluripotent Human Embryonic Stem Cell Line Derived from a Cloned Blastocyst. Science 12 March 2004: 303 (5664), 1669-1674.Published online 12 February 2004 [DOI:10.1126/science.1094515] Smith R. "Peer review: reform or revolution?" BMJ. Sept. 27, 1997;315:759 Ware M. Peer review: benefits, perceptions and alternatives .Publishing Research Consortium. Dec 2, 2008 White C. Little evidence for effectiveness of scientific peer review. BMJ. Volume 326, February 2003. (Dec. 2, 2008) ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research/collaboration. Willy K. Tonui, Role of Biosafety Professionals in Dual Use Research of Concern Responsible Conduct in the Global Research Enterprise/ A Policy Report InterAcademy Council / IAP – the global network of science academies.
Illustrations used in this booklet from: Illustrations by David Zinn/ Introduction to the Responsible Conductof Research Nicholas H. Steneck August 2007.