Education and training

UKRIO recognised early on that the knowledge generated by our unique role in the UK research community was too valuable to be kept within our organisation. While the appeals for our help and our response must remain confidential, we share the issues and solutions identified in our advisory work through our other activities. We regularly work with research organisations to deliver training on research integrity or to help them establish their own, in-house programmes.

We provide advice and support in developing and delivering training on issues of research integrity, from education about the responsible conduct of research to instruction for senior managers in the process of investigating allegations of research misconduct. UKRIO staff and members of our Advisory Community are available to deliver both standalone sessions and training which can be integrated into existing staff or student development programmes.

Sessions are designed to share good practice in the conduct of research and pass on the lessons that UKRIO has learnt through its advice and guidance services. The focus is on raising awareness of research integrity, providing practical and useful support on how to avoid or address common issues, and using illustrative case studies to demonstrate how situations can arise and be resolved. Our training sessions also provide a forum for delegates to relate their own experiences in confidence, consider how research integrity is best supported in different contexts and seek advice on difficult issues.

We can provide training that emphasises the good practice that runs across all research disciplines or sessions that focus on a single discipline. Topics include:

• General introductions to research integrity and research misconduct
• How to adapt our published guidance for use in specific research environments
• Training for managers and administrators who have responsibility for investigating allegations of misconduct in research
• Sessions which focus on particular aspects of research integrity, such as research ethics, informed consent or publication ethics and authorship in academic publications.
• Approaches to implementing the requirements of research funders and other bodies, such as The Concordat to Support Research Integrity

Training for members of Research Ethics Committees

UKRIO offers a range of training sessions for members of research ethics committees (RECs) and researchers. Sessions can be delivered as half or full days depending on content and member requirements. The following comprises examples of fairly standard training but we are happy to receive requests for bespoke sessions and specialist topics.

1. The basics of REC constitutions and terms of reference: What are RECs for? What is their scope? What do they do? How should they do it (including the systematic application of moral theory)?
2. Structures, roles and relationships: the distinctive natures of research ethics, governance and integrity.
3. Exploring common ground and disciplinary differences across university departmental and faculty RECs, from biomedical research to social research to ethical challenges in the performing and creative arts.
4. Application to external bodies e.g. Health Research Authority ethics review and governance approval.
5. Ethical research – from conception to dissemination: ethical design (relationships between methodologies/ methods and ethics), ethical conduct (recruitment of participants, seeking consent, processing data, preserving confidentiality) and ethical dissemination (publication ethics).
6. Challenges, such as: vulnerable participants; participants lacking mental capacity to consent; use of human tissue; clinical trials of drugs and devices.

Sessions are suitable for both new REC members and existing members seeking refresher training. We can also provide broader training for researchers in research ethics and the role of RECs. UKRIO also has considerable experience in helping institutions establish or revise systems and policies for ethical review of research, as well as other procedures for research integrity, ethics and governance.

As well as delivering training, UKRIO is happy to give informal or formal input into the development of institutional programmes for the education and training of staff and research students.

If you would like our assistance with education and training, please contact us.

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