Introduction
This site gives information on research integrity for staff and students undertaking research in the Business School.
The guiding principles for research conducted in the University are to do no-harm and do good:
| 1. |
Research should not cause harm to participants or researchers and should benefit society. |
| 2. |
Research participants must give voluntary, informed consent to participation in the research. |
| 3. |
Participants should be free from coercion of any kind. |
| 4. |
Honesty should be central to the relationship between research and participants. |
| 5. |
Participant’s confidentiality and anonymity should be maintained. |
| 6. |
The use of research data should adhere to the University Research Data Management policy and the Data Protection Act 2018. |
| 7. |
Researchers should take responsibility for their contribution to all publications, reports and other representations of their research. |
| 8. |
Researchers should report any suspected misconduct to the appropriate authorities. |
A more detailed description of these principles is outlined in the University Code of Practice on Research Integrity to which all staff and students must adhere.
The Business School Research Integrity Committee
The Research Integrity Committee (RIC) is responsible for ensuring that research conducted by staff and students in the Business School meets the principles outlined above. The committee meets monthly. We review applications from staff and students seeking ethical approval for their proposed research. It is the responsibility of those conducting research to ensure that they apply for ethical approval before any research is undertaken.
Once an application for approval has been received, the committee aims to have a response to the applicant within 10 working days. Once reviewed, the committee clerk will contact the applicant with the response from the committee. The committee can:
| 1. |
Reject the application on the basis that it violates one or more of the University research principles. |
| 2. |
Ask the applicant to amend the application taking into account feedback from committee members. |
| 3. |
Approve the application in its current form. |
If you have any questions about research integrity issues in your proposed research, contact Matthew Dutton at
m.dutton@napier.ac.uk
Current committee members are:
Data Protection & GDPR
All researchers intending to use personal data must comply with the requirements of data protection legislation, the University's Data Protection Code of Practice and any associated guidance.
There is further guidance
here. This guidance covers the data protection issues researchers should take into account and the actions to take to be compliant.
The principles of GDPR for research are:
| 1. |
Processing must be fair, lawful and transparent. |
| 2. |
Personal data is collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed for an incompatible purpose. |
| 3. |
Personal data must be adequate, relevant and limited. |
| 4. |
Data must be accurate. |
| 5. |
Personal data must be kept no longer than necessary for the purposes collected. |
| 6. |
Appropriate technical and organisational measures must be used to protect personal data. |
| 7. |
Accountability – you must be able to demonstrate compliance e.g. provide records documenting processing. |
Data protection means that staff and students should only use their University storage on their H Drive or V drive and only use Novi Survey for online surveys. No other online survey platform is approved for use by the University. Novi is hosted by the University and complies with our Information Security Policies and the Code of Practice of Research Integrity.
How to Apply for Ethics Approval
If you are a research student, once you have received approval for your research from the Committee, you will need to download and complete the
Oath of Confidentiality form.