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InterAct network – funding call for economic and social science insights for businesses

Funding opportunities, Industry collaboration

The recently established InterAct Network aims to bring together social and economic scientists from across the country with the digital technology and UK manufacturing sectors.

The ESRC-funded network will be supporting and funding collaborative research into issues faced by these industries resulting from the diffusion of new technologies.

The network will be launching its first funding call, a pair of systematic literature reviews, at an upcoming virtual event from 11am – 1pm on 26th January.

Attendees will hear from InterAct co-directors Professor Jan Godsell and Professor Jillian MacBryde as they explain more about the opportunity, the key deadlines, funding availability, application procedure, and other upcoming funding calls in 2022.

Proposals will be accepted for funding up to a maximum of £50,000, with each review to take place over a four-month period. Reviews should address one of the following topics:

  • What can we learn from historical and/or international perspectives on industrial development and evolution?
  • What impact will the changing nature of business plans have in enabling the adoption of industrial digital technologies?

You can find out more and sign up to the briefing via Eventbrite

More extensive guidance documentation and application forms will be made available on the InterAct Network website and via email following the event.

Request for feedback – MHRA clinical trials consultation

NHS, Research Ethics

The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (the MHRA) have launched a public consultation into clinical trials.

The aim of the consultation is to streamline approvals, enable innovation, enhance clinical trials transparency, enable greater risk proportionality, and promote patient and public involvement.

There will be a 1 hour meeting on Monday 14th February at 1pm until 2pm, where you can offer your thoughts and feedback for BU’s institutional response.

If you wish to attend the meeting, please get in touch to be added to the invitation.

If you are unable to make the above time but wish to offer your thoughts, please email clinicalresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk to ensure your feedback is included.

Research Integrity – Research Misconduct

Today’s spotlight is on Research Misconduct.

The University’s Research Misconduct Policy & Procedure defines research misconduct to include (but is not limited to):

  • fabrication: making up results or other outputs and presenting them as though they were real;
  • falsification: manipulating research processes or changing or omitting data without proper cause;
  • piracy: the deliberate exploitation of ideas from others without proper acknowledgement;
  • plagiarism: the copying or misappropriation of ideas (or their expression), text, software or data (or some combination thereof) without permission and due acknowledgement;
  • misrepresentation: the deliberate attempt to represent falsely or unfairly the ideas or work of others, whether or not for personal gain or enhancement;
  • academic fraud: deliberate deception which includes the invention or fabrication of data and/or experimentation;
  • improprieties of authorship: including improper inclusion or exclusion of individuals as authors; misrepresentation or duplication of substantially similar material that has previously been the focus of one’s own published research findings without due referencing;
  • non-compliance of research governance: failure to comply with appropriate internal and external requirements such as regulatory, financial, legal and/or ethical approval;
  • serious breach of research ethics as defined in 8B – Research Ethics Code of Practice and where not dealt with through student/staff disciplinary or other University procedure;
  • facilitating misconduct in research: deliberate concealment of research misconduct by others or collusion in such research;
  • inciting others to commit research misconduct; deliberate encouragement of others to conduct research in an untruthful or unfair manner;
  • improper dealing with allegations of research misconduct: failing to address possible infringements such as attempts to cover up research misconduct and reprisals against whistleblowers.

BU acknowledges that whilst ‘honest errors and differences in, for example, research methods and interpretations are not examples of research misconduct, academics [researchers] are expected to maintain their knowledge and awareness of relevant internal and external requirements’[1].

How to report research misconduct

The Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) has overall responsibility for the policy and procedure and its implementation when a formal allegation of research misconduct against a member of the University is received.

Formal allegations of research misconduct should be put in writing to the DVC.  If you are unsure whether to report a breach of research integrity under the Research Misconduct Policy, you can seek confidential advice from the University’s Research Ethics Panel Chairs.  The Panel Chairs can help you to establish whether concerns related to research integrity should be reported for investigation.  Click on the University’s Named Contacts.

Further details about the reporting procedure can be found in the Research Misconduct Policy (section 6).

You can also report a concern about serious malpractice under the Public Interest Disclosure legislation – “Whistleblowing” (Disclosure in the Public Interest) Policy.

Breaches to research integrity can be damaging to individuals and cause reputational harm to both our research community and the University.  It undermines public trust and causes harm.  Therefore, understanding what constitutes misconduct and attending appropriate workshops is key to avoid making mistakes and to prevent breaches in research integrity.

Don’t forget

We are planning Research Integrity Week 2022, when keynote speakers and interactive workshops will be available, giving you the opportunity to find out more about research integrity, how it might impact your research, and the opportunity to discuss with others when dealing with issues which can come up in the field or working within your Teams.

More details to be announced over the coming weeks.

[1] 6M – Research Misconduct: Policy and Procedure

New BU social sciences and social work publication

Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to Jane Healy and Rosslyn Dray, both in the Department of Social Sciences & Social Work on their publication today in The Journal of Adult Protection.  Their paper’ Missing links: Safeguarding and disability hate crime responses’ considers the relationship between disability hate crime and safeguarding adults [1]. It critically considers whether safeguarding responses to disability hate crime have changed following the implementation of the Care Act 2014. Historically, protectionist responses to disabled people may have masked the scale of hate crime and prevented them from seeking legal recourse through the criminal justice system (CJS). This paper investigates whether agencies are working together effectively to tackle hate crime.  The authors conclude that raising the profile of disability hate crime within safeguarding teams could lead to achieving more effective outcomes for adults at risk: improving confidence in reporting, identifying perpetrators of hate crimes, enabling the CJS to intervene and reducing the risk of further targeted abuse on the victim or wider community.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

Reference:

  1. Healy, J.C.,Dray, R. (2022), Missing links: safeguarding and disability hate crime responses, The Journal of Adult Protection, Online first ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-09-2021-0030

At the end with Endnote? Need a hand?

writing

Why not join the Endnote Workshops to support your research….
EndNote is a tool designed to help you manage the large numbers of references accumulated through your research and it will interact with your word processor to produce in-text citations and references in many thousands of journal styles, including BU Harvard. It is also particularly valuable for supporting the production the systematic reviews. This practical session will guide you through creating your own EndNote database which you can use to search and sort your references.
Workshop: Endnote Desktop as a research tool 
  • Wednesday 9th February at 3-5pm in the Bournemouth Gateway Building BGG16
  • Wednesday 20th March 2-4pm
  • Tuesday 10th May 2-4pm
  • Tuesday 5th July 10am-12pm

Research Integrity – Clinical Research

by Suzy Wignall, Clinical Governance Adviser

All clinical research, whether a simple interview study or a clinical trial of a new medicine, must adhere to a set of standards called Good Clinical Practice, or in other words, ‘GCP’.

It is the international ethical, scientific and practical standard to which all clinical research is conducted and is in place to protect the rights, safety and wellbeing of research participants and to ensure the data collected through the research is credible and of a high quality.

GCP is a legal requirement in the UK, which stresses the importance of ensuring it is inherent throughout all research activities, regardless of the study type. Good data management and participant management guarantees the integrity of the research and the integrity of the researcher and their team.

Participants donate their time freely, and trust their sensitive data to the research team, therefore it is vital that said data is handled with care and their participation is valued.

A key component of GCP, is the feasibility process, or in other words, making sure those interested in conducting the research have the necessary facilities and measures in place to run the study safely and appropriately. This might be a hospital team, a GP practice, or even just an external colleague. Regardless, all involved must be appropriately trained and experienced, in turn again ensuring the integrity of the research and the research activities being conducted.

Research integrity and GCP go hand in hand and should be considered at every stage of the study, from design and planning, to receiving consent and data collection, right through to publication of the results.

Part of ensuring that research integrity is maintained, is by good documentation and filing. Under GCP, the ALCOAC general principles are key –

  • Attributable
  • Legible
  • Contemporaneous
  • Original
  • Accurate
  • Complete

If a total stranger was to review your study records, they should be able to re-create the study through the contents of the files. Indeed, clinical research is often monitored and audited, by both the organisations responsible for the study, and by regulatory bodies. Organisations can be prevented from conducting future studies if any critical findings arise from inspection, so integrity of the research and data is key from a reputational standpoint too.

Appropriate file-keeping and using the correct versions and dates of documents likewise ensures participant safety. When a participant is invited to a study, they should receive all the information they require and have the opportunity to ask questions or for additional documentation to allow them to make an informed decision. Not only does this then ensure you are receiving fully informed consent, but you are ensuring GCP standards are maintained.

Although this post has concerned integrity in clinical research, a lot of the good practice is transferable to non-clinical, particularly when studies involve human participants.

There are a number of documents available on the Research Governance & Integrity website (click explore Clinical Governance) such as a template file index, a new researcher checklist and template participant-facing documents. We advise that researchers at BU use these for all types of studies, to ensure the highest standards of research governance, ethics and integrity.

Research Integrity – Researchers’ Responsibilities

Research Ethics

Today’s spotlight is on the Researchers’ Responsibilities

BU requires all those undertaking and/or contributing to research to adhere to the highest standards of performance and ethical conduct and embed good practice in all aspects of their work.  Researchers must operate honestly and openly in respect of their own actions and in response to the actions of others involved in research[1].

This means you need to:

  • Comply with and operate in accordance with the principles and practices set out in BU’s Code of Good Research Practice
  • Understand key university policies and procedures that relate to research. Know where to find them!  For those in receipt of external funding, you need to be aware of funder policies and guidance on research integrity.
  • Consider research ethics, this includes ascertaining at what stage of your research you will need a formal ethics review.
  • Make the most of training and other resources that are available to you.
  • Know who you can contact if you have concerns on matters related to research integrity (scroll down to BU contacts) or ethics.
  • Understand what constitutes Research Misconduct, so that it can be avoided.

Remember, there are a number of resources available to help you be that responsible researcher. The UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) have also produced a helpful Checklist for Researchers. This is a one-page, non-technical checklist highlighting key points of good practice in research.[2]

Remember the core elements of research integrity[3]

Honesty – in all aspects of research, including in the:

  • presentation of research goals, intentions and findings
  • reporting of research methods and procedures
  • gathering data
  • using and acknowledging the work of others
  • conveying valid interpretations and making justifiable claims based on research findings

Rigour in:

  • following disciplinary standard and norms
  • performing research and using appropriate methods
  • adhering to agreed protocol
  • drawing interpretations and conclusions from the research
  • in communicating the results

Transparency and open communication in:

  • declaring potential competing interests
  • the reporting of research data collection methods
  • the analysis and interpretation of data
  • making research findings widely available, which includes publishing or otherwise sharing negative or null results to recognise their value as part of the research process
  • presenting the work to other researchers and to the public

Care and respect for

  • all participants in research, and for the subjects, users and beneficiaries of research, including humans, animals, the environment and cultural objects
  • the integrity of the research record

Accountability:

  • of all those involved in the research process to collectively create an empowering and enabling research environment
  • to take action when behaviour falls short of the accepted standards of good research practice.

[1] Good Code of Research Practice

[2] UKRIO

[3] Concordat to Support Research Integrity

UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisors: Calling all doctoral supervisors

PG research

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come and find out about getting external accreditation for your wonderful doctoral supervision!

The UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) runs a national recognition scheme for doctoral supervisors.

The Doctoral College is running two lunchbites to introduce staff to the scheme.

The Faculty of Health & Social Sciences is also running 3 sessions to support staff in reflecting upon their practice, and build in underpinning evidence. This is open to staff from all faculties to find out about the scheme and start to think about the different components. To submit the portfolio, you must have at least one doctoral completion. To book onto the sessions listed below, please contact Debbie Holley.

 The sessions are as follows:

Date/ Facilitators Time Description
Wednesday 16 February 2022

Professor Debbie Holley and  Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

 13.00

Zoom

 Session 1:

An introduction to the UKCGE scheme and aims of the Recognised Research Supervisor scheme
Tuesday 1 March 2022

Professor Debbie Holley and Professor Vanora Hundley

 13.00

Zoom

 Session 2:

An overview of the 10 areas of evidence and discussion
Thursday 26 May 2022

Professor Debbie Holley

Dr Vanessa Heaslip,

Dr Jacqui Hewitt-Taylor

 13.30 – 16.30

F-2-F

 UKCGE Panel Q&A and writing afternoon
Tuesday 21 June 2022

Professor Debbie Holley and Professor Sue Way

 12.00

Zoom

 Session 3:

Final polishing and ensuring a consistent reflective approach throughout the document

For further information contact Debbie Holley or The Doctoral College

Influencing Policy Workshop with Professor Mark Reed

Training

If you would like your research to have an impact on government policy, or would like to influence the policy of large organisations, then this half day workshop by impact expert, Professor Mark Reed, of Fast Track Impact, is for you.

This online half-day workshop is open to all academics and there are limited places, so book via OD now! Once booked, you will be sent a Zoom link to join the session nearer the time.

The workshop is running on 1st March from 13:00-16:30 and places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

During this workshop, you will discover quick and easy tools you can use immediately to:

  • Prioritise which policy actors to engage with first and how to instantly get their attention.
  • Create a powerful impact plan that will guarantee your research makes a difference without wasting your time.
  • Learn how to design an effective policy brief.
  • Pitch evidence-based policy options powerfully in meetings and seminars.
  • Learn how to get your research into policy, wherever you work in the world, by building trust and working with intermediaries.
  • Track, evaluate and evidence policy impacts, discovering time-efficient ways to keep track of impacts as they arise, and design an impact evaluation that convincingly attributes impacts to your research.
  • Be inspired by primary research and case studies that illustrate each point.

For more information, please contact Amanda Lazar.

 

 

 

Sign up Sign up: British Academy ECR Network Southwest Hub

Knowledge Exchange

Are you an ECR who wants to start 2022 with an awesome opportunity??

Please sign up to the newly established British Academy ECR Network Southwest Hub. Led by the GW4 Alliance, in partnership with the British Academy and nine Southwest universities (including Bournemouth University). This is building an inclusive and researcher-led network to support the needs and interests of researchers in the humanities and social sciences – including subjects from Social Psychology and Anthropology to Law and History.
There will be events and activities both in the region and at the Academy that will provide an opportunity for capacity building, knowledge exchange and networking. Researcher interests will inform the activities and opportunities the network will offer.
For those that join, you will be invited to attend an Early-Career Researcher Network Welcome session, where you will learn more about the Network, meet and engage with other Early-Career Researchers and address any questions or concerns you have about the Network.
The Welcome session will take place on Thursday 20th January 2022 between 14:00 – 15:00pm on Zoom.
The Network is being piloted across the Southwest and is for researchers who identify as early-career. Although the Network does not have a strict definition of an ECR, it is anticipated you will be within 10 years of your PhD experience but recognise this will not be the case for all, given career breaks for MAT, PAT, sick leave, and other exceptional circumstances.
Further information can be found via the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network webpage.
To sign-up follow this link to register your interest to join the Network: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/BAECRN/

Research Integrity and Institutional Support

Research Integritiy

Integrity should be integral throughout the whole project life cycle, from planning (design/proposal), study set up (methods, collaborations, data management), project management (finance, compliance, data collection), reporting (publication, impact & public engagement) to data sharing (closing your project).

BU is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity in all aspects of its research.  To support Researchers in this endeavour we provide our research community with relevant policies & processes to appropriate codes of practice, robust review processes (compliance) and training opportunities.

We also provide contacts for those who might need confidential advice on concerns relating to research integrity.

Polices & Procedures

Navigating through the project life cycle can bring up many challenges and to support the research community we have a number of policies & guidance documents available.  These documents should be referred to at the very start, not just when a problem arises or for a particular milestone such as an ethics review.

For example….

Research data management is very important, particularly if you intend to collect personal information from a research participant.  You need to have a clear idea on the type of data do you intend to collect.  In this case, a data management plan is an invaluable tool which ensures the integrity of the data you want to collect.  There is a BU template available for you to use (see DMP online – link below).

Publication and authorship e.g. recognition of contributors, authorship, declaration of any conflicts of interest, meeting requirements for open access should also be considered early.  Having an open dialogue can prevent issues later down the line.

Ethics Review Process

Another way the University demonstrates a commitment to promoting and upholding the highest quality academic and ethical standards is to ensure we have a robust ethics review process in place.

The ethical design and management of research is the responsibility of the researcher and the task of the Reviewers/central research ethics panels is to ensure that the researcher (staff or student) has met their responsibilities and research will be conducted ethically.

More about the research ethics and why it matters next week!

Training Opportunities

There are numerous training opportunities via the Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework. Workshops are available to all academics and researchers.

For postgraduate research students, there are training opportunities available via the Research Development Programme.  See introductory video to the Programme and Researcher Development website for further details.

There are also a number of online resources via the Research Skills Toolkit which is available via the Research Governance & Integrity Website (training opportunities).

As different disciplines will have different issues of integrity, do check with your department as there may be discipline specific guidance on good research practice also available.

Resources

More details about the Concordats can be found on the Research Concordats website, specifically research integrity at  https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/research-environment/research-concordat/concordat-support-research-integrity

Coming later this year

We are planning Integrity Week 2022, when keynote speakers and interactive workshops will be available, giving you the opportunity to find out more about research integrity, how it might impact your research and the opportunity to discuss with others when dealing with issues which can come up in the field or working within your Teams.  This will include both non-clinical and clinical research settings.

So, watch this space for more details.

PGR Supervisory Lunchbites | Important factors for supporting PGRs requiring ALS

PG research, Training

Hosted by the Doctoral College, these one hour online lunch bite sessions supplement the regular New and Established Supervisory Development Sessions and are aimed at all academic staff who are new to, or experienced at, supervising research degree students and are interested in expanding their knowledge of a specific aspect or process in research degree supervision.

Each session will be led by a senior academic who will introduce the topic, and staff will benefit from discussions aimed at sharing best practice from across BU. Bookings are arranged by Organisational Development.

This session is focused on expanding individuals’ knowledge on the additional support available to PGRs with disabilities, what reasonable adjustments can be made, and the role of the supervisor. This discussion will be led by Ildiko Balogh, Student Services.

Staff attending will: 

  • have gained additional knowledge of additional support available to PGRs with disabilities
  • have gained additional knowledge of how supervisor can support PGRs with disabilities
  • be aware of the relevant sections of the Code of Practice for Research Degrees

Further details on the session as well as information on future lunchbite sessions can also be found on the staff intranet.

Date: Tuesday 25 January 2022

Time: 12:00 – 13:00, Teams

To book a place on this session please complete the booking form.

Further details and future sessions can also be found on the Supervisory Development Lunchbite Sessions staff intranet page.

Conversation article – what Djokovic row means for unvaccinated elite athletes

Dr Keith Parry answers some of the most pressing questions about what tennis star Novak Djokovic’s deportation from Australia means for unvaccinated athletes in this article for The Conversation…

‘We’re entering unprecedented territory’: sports expert Q&A on what Djokovic row means for unvaccinated elite athletes

Keith Parry, Bournemouth University

Tennis star Novak Djokovic is out of the Australian Open after the country’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, cancelled his visa “on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so”. This follows an earlier quashing of the original decision by Border Force officials to cancel the Serbian player’s visa when he arrived in Australia because he didn’t have a COVID vaccination. Djokovic’s lawyers headed to court to seek an injunction against his deportation, which has now been dismissed.

Djokovic was seeking a tenth title at the event, as well as the world record for men’s Grand Slam wins. At the age of 34, it this makes it harder for him to now be able to fulfil his potential on the court before he retires.

At a time when multiple countries have been introducing restrictions on unvaccinated people, it raises questions about whether other sports stars will run into similar issues. We asked sports management expert Keith Parry about what the visa struggle might mean for sports stars and teams around the world.

Will Djokovic’s visa saga have implications for other sports in Australia?

Yes it will. Now they’ve set the precedent, I think we could see other players fall foul of this system when entering Australia. Clearly the federal government do not want unvaccinated players coming into Australia so it will deter some (unless they agree to isolate for two weeks).

Are significant numbers of sports stars unvaccinated?

In the US the public know if players are unvaccinated because of regulations there. For example the National Basketball Association has released a list of unvaccinated players. There’s no requirement to name players in the UK, but there’s been coverage about Premier League footballers not being vaccinated.

What are other teams likely to do to avoid trouble?

Liverpool FC manager Jürgen Klopp has said that he won’t sign an unvaccinated player. So there’s an implication for players’ livelihoods. Players who are unvaccinated may have limited choice not just in terms of where they can go and travel, but also in terms of the clubs that are prepared to sign them. So we’re entering unprecedented territory now. Other managers may follow Klopp’s lead.

Some managers will see the Djokovic decision as further evidence of the challenge that unvaccinated players pose to clubs. Another challenge for sport managers may be sponsors and partners, who may exert influence on athletes or teams if they have strong views on vaccinations. We see many sponsors end relationships with teams or players if they feel it is bad for their image.

Teams and organisations will also now think carefully about where they play or host matches. Teams will pay even closer attention to the regulations in countries and ensure that they have sufficient time to meet the requirements for isolation or bubbles. Countries that have stricter rules may look less appealing in the future.

Will sports stars worry about their statements on vaccines making a difference to them playing?

Players are very affluent. They’re young and feel indestructible. But they may think twice now about what they say on social media about vaccines. It will be interesting to see how athletes who refuse to be vaccinated are viewed. Will it tarnish Djokovic’s image or, as is often the case, will he be forgiven and the episode written out of his story?

Which countries with upcoming tournaments could be an issue in future?

In Europe, Italy and Germany have vaccine mandates and so tournaments there, or European club competition matches in these countries, may present challenges. France just relaxed its travel rules but unvaccinated players are still required to isolate for ten days. This may be an issue for the Six Nations rugby tournament this spring.

Different state rules around the US may be a challenge for athletes. Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets, for instance, cannot play in New York because of its regulations, but he can play in the team’s away matches in most other states.

Is this a sign that sports stars can’t always get around the rules?

In the past, organisations like international football association FIFA and the International Olympic Committee have operated outside of borders and outside of the rules. Often no one holds them accountable. Clearly these celebrities do expect to have preferential treatment. So this visa wrangle may be a bit of a shock.

Ordinary people have to go through immigration, fill in forms ourselves and follow the rules. But when you’re idolised by millions around the world, it’s very difficult to think that the rules apply to you. Sports heroes have crossed over into the realm of celebrity but there’s a need for athletes to uphold society’s values.The Conversation

Keith Parry, Deputy Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Event Management, Bournemouth University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.