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news.An office has been set up to tackle research fraud in the UK. The new UK Research Integrity Office, which has been welcomed by the British Medical Association and the Committee on Publication Ethics, will aim to improve the quality of medical research and provide support for whistleblowers to report suspected fraud.
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Recent years have seen much debate focused around how best to monitor and regulate research integrity to help prevent misconduct. Unlike certain other countries, including the US and parts of mainland Europe, the UK does not have procedures in place to identify and examine alleged research integrity.
The UK Panel for Research Integrity is a three-year project introduced to promote best practice in research conduct. While the office will not investigate claims of fraud or unethical conduct itself, it will encourage employers to do so, and will provide support to whistleblowers.
“Fraudulent and unethical practices have no place in UK research,” commented Professor Michael Rees, chair of the British Medical Association’s medical academics committee. “It is also key that there is a nationwide approach to uncovering and dealing with these issues…At present there is no central source for sharing best practice, resulting in a patchy approach across the UK. We hope this initiative will tackle this gap.”
Also praising the project, Dr Harvey Marcovitch, chair of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), commented that he anticipates the panel “will boost public confidence in the honesty of scientific and medical researchers.”