Advice on the recruitment of research misconduct panel members

Recruitment of panel members can be one of the more challenging areas of managing research misconduct investigations, and it can lead to delays in completing investigations, which is a frustration for all concerned. A range of people are needed – those internal to the institution and external, those with expertise in the discipline and those without. People are also needed at all stages – potentially the initial investigation, full investigation and appeal stage. Those involved need to be sufficiently trained or briefed to understand the procedure and the principles surrounding research misconduct investigations.

All this can be difficult to achieve in any institutions but can be especially difficult in smaller institutions where everyone knows each other. This note seeks to provide some advice on how these potential challenges can be mitigated.

Internal panel members

It can be helpful to establish a small group of experienced staff who could be briefed or trained to act as the investigator on initial investigations, or on a formal investigation panel as the non-specialist. Once a person has acted in this capacity on one occasion, if they are willing, they can be included in an informal list of those willing to act. Generally, the specialist/external panel members need to be recruited each time there is an investigation.

This can be challenging for smaller institutions which may not see many cases. It can still be helpful to try to identify potential panel members so that you have a go-to list which can be used when a case arises. It could be helpful to contact your mission group, if your organisation belongs to one, or consider contacting colleagues in other institutions.

It is important for those new to the procedure to have a short briefing and to provide information to them on what the procedure is and isn’t. For example, it is important to note to people that the procedure is not a disciplinary one that is setting penalties or punishments, but that it is investigatory, aimed at finding out what happened and correcting the research record where appropriate. Some academic staff may be more used to disciplinary procedures from experience of student misconduct procedures.

It is better to have held any training for those involved in research misconduct procedures prior to any cases arising so that staff are already trained, otherwise this can delay investigations. It may not however be possible, particularly when using a panel member for the first time.

It is important to ensure there is no conflict of interest. This can sometimes happen completely by chance – for example if someone is working in a neighbouring office or laboratory. It is generally better to make changes if there is any perception of conflict of interest, to avoid any potential accusations later and help with confidence in the process from both complainant and respondent.

External panel members

This can be even more challenging than recruiting an internal panel member. Some potential options are provided below:

  • Use contacts in other higher education institutions, particularly local ones if in-person meetings are going to be scheduled. Whilst not advisable to set up a reciprocal process, if colleagues at other institutions have asked you to help with supplying a panel member, then they may be more willing to help you if the case arises.
  • UKRIO has established a process via our subscriber portal, whereby our subscriber institutions can request help from other subscribers. Hopefully this will prove a useful mechanism to source panel members.
  • Internet research into the discipline may help source potential panel members.
  • Independent internal staff members may be able to advise on potential panel members.
  • There may be scope for mission groups to help with this.
  • Occasionally it may be helpful or necessary to look beyond academia; for example, other stakeholders such as from the NHS, or less commonly industry peers.
  • UKRIO staff are not normally able to sit on panels or directly source panel members, but occasionally one of our expert volunteers may be available to serve as a panel member.

Expectations

Be clear what you need, whether academic subject specialist or a panel chair, to direct the proceedings but not have a direct academic disciplinary link to the matter.

It is also important to be clear about what is required in terms of the potential time commitment and the timescales involved. Whilst this may on occasion mean that people turn down the request, the worse alternative is that people may drop out part way through if it proves to be too much of a time commitment or is going to take too long.

It may be helpful to set out a short role description setting out what is needed in terms of time, expertise, experience and behaviour.

 

Written by Nicola Sainsbury, Research Integrity Manager, UKRIO

November, 2023