Abstract

The University of Galway is part of a national consortium for Research Integrity training, comprised of 30 Universities and Research Performing Organizations from across Ireland, established by the Irish National Research Integrity Forum (NRIF)1. As well as a Strategic Steering Group, the NRIF has set up a “Community of Practice” made up of RMAs, national research funders and other relevant national organizations. The Community of Practice is an invaluable resource and platform for discussion which brings RMAs from diverse backgrounds and disciplines together to share best practice on Research Integrity training, and is a central hub for discussion of the latest developments related to Research Integrity e.g. open science, the role of AI, predatory publishing etc.
In this short talk, we will bring the audience through the 5-year journey of establishing a robust training programme in Research Integrity at University of Galway, from the perspective of an RMA. The dynamic and varied RMA profession continues to diversify, providing opportunities for RMAs to develop specialist knowledge in areas of interest, including Research Integrity. RMAs are responsible for ensuring compliance with the funders’ requirements- now including Research Integrity- as well as ensuring high quality and up-to-date training is accessible for all researchers.
The NRIF Community of Practice has successfully implemented a nationwide approach to training in Research Integrity, working closely with the national funding bodies and providing comprehensive feedback to tailor the online training programme to align with the current research landscape in Ireland. All members of the consortium have rolled out online training and a subset (including University of Galway) also provide in-person interactive complementary workshops. Here we will provide an overview of the establishment of the nationwide training programme, with a focus on University of Galway initiatives. We will showcase the themes that have emerged from extensive feedback collected from training workshop attendees over a 5-year period, in collaboration with the Researcher Development Centre2. We will also present our current study looking at the perception and attitudes of post-graduate researchers towards research integrity, including the role of training in their PhD studies. Research Integrity training has recently been made mandatory for all post-graduate researchers at University of Galway, providing a unique opportunity to explore whether perceptions of integrity training change when it becomes a PhD requirement.
Learning outcomes:
• Understanding how a small country can collaborate and share best practice working closely with funding bodies, to achieve a robust training programme in integrity
• Gaining insights into the development of an interdisciplinary Research Integrity programme at University of Galway, incorporating the latest findings from Horizon 2020-funded projects: VIRT2UE3 and Path2Integrity4

1 National Research Integrity Form: Research Integrity | Irish Universities Association (iua.ie)
2 Researcher Development Centre: Researcher Development Centre - University of Galway
3 VIRT2UE: Virtue based ethics and Integrity of Research: Train-the-Trainer program for Upholding the principles and practices of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity | VIRT2UE | Project | Fact sheet | H2020 | CORDIS | European Commission (europa.eu)
4 Path2Integrity: Path2Integrity - Path2Integrity