Research Integrity Helpline - advice and support for anyone with concerns about the conduct of research
The Research Integrity Helpline is a service provided by UKRIO to offer advice and guidance on issues relating to the conduct of research. We offer support to individual researchers, research organisations and members of the public, and cover all research disciplines.
To seek advice or to raise concerns about possible misconduct in research, contact us on:
0844 770 0644 or helpline@ukrio.org
What is the Helpline for?
Launched in 2006, the Research Integrity Helpine provides confidential advice and guidance to anyone with concerns about the conduct of research or who is involved in the investigation of allegations of misconduct in research.
Those who would find the advice useful might include:
- A researcher with concerns about the conduct of a colleague
- A manager who has received an allegation of misconduct in research
- Someone who has been informed that an allegation of misconduct has been made about their research
- Those responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct in research
- A participant in a research project who is worried about how that research is being carried out
- Anyone who has evidence of misconduct in a research project
Access to advice from UKRIO
The Research Integrity Helpline is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. To contact us, call 0844 770 0644.
Outside of these hours, you may leave a message and someone will contact you as you require.
Alternatively, you may contact UKRIO by emailing helpline@ukrio.org
Staff at UKRIO may be able to provide guidance directly. Alternatively, callers may be referred to an expert from our Register of Advisers or to an appropriate external regulatory body or other organisation.
Confidentiality
All calls are confidential and will not be recorded. Only those details agreed will be passed to an Adviser. No other parties will be informed, unless clear evidence of criminal activity has been presented.
Why call the Helpline?
Misconduct in research takes many forms. It can be serious and threaten lives; it can appear trivial but still greatly harm research.
Call the Research Integrity Helpline if you have concerns about:
- Fabrication of research data, processes or results.
- Falsification: the manipulation of research data, processes and results; also the omission of critical data or results.
- Misrepresentation of research data or of a researcher's interests or involvement.
- Plagiarism: the unauthorised use of or representation of another person's material as one's own original work.
- Research that may be causing unreasonable risk or harm to humans, animals used in research or the environment.
You might also wish to call the Research Integrity Helpline if you have concerns about:
- Poor management and preservation of research data.
- Refusal of reasonable access to unique research materials or data that support published papers.
- Use of inappropriate statistical methods or measurement to enhance the significance of research findings.
- Manipulation, falsification or selective use of digital or other images.
- Inadequate supervision of junior colleagues in research or exploitation of them.
- Conferring or requesting undeserved authorship, or denying deserved authorship.
- Multiple publication of data without disclosing that it has been published before.
Expert involvement in investigations
Institutions seeking external participants to help investigate allegations of misconduct in research, as recommended by our Procedure for the Investigation of Misconduct in Research, can call the Helpline to request the involvement of members of UKRIO's Register of Advisers . Our Advisers bring an external, skilled and experienced perspective to investigations and can help reassure all involved that the process will be thorough and fair.
Like all of UKRIO's services, this is provided in confidence and pro bono. In particular, once an Advisor has joined an investigation panel, he or she will make no reports to UKRIO whatsoever concerning the investigation or its outcome as we recognise that to break confidentiality would damage the integrity of the process.
Contact the Helpline
To seek advice about these or any other matters, or to raise concerns about possible misconduct in research, contact us on:
0844 770 0644 or helpline@ukrio.org
Further information
A PDF leaflet which summarises the information on this page can be downloaded here.
UKRIO also welcomes general inquiries on any issues relating to integrity in research as well as those seeking assistance with specific cases. Details on how to contact us can be found here.
