Code of Good Practice in Research Programme 2023-24
This is an archive of monthly activities for the university’s good research practice campaign, 2023-2024. This is a rolling programme, developed by the Research Governance and Integrity Team, to raise awareness and explore key themes in the Code of Good Practice in Research.
The current programme can be found on the spotlight topic of the month webpage.
If you have any comments or feedback about the good research practice programme, please contact the Research Governance and Integrity team: research-integrity@gla.ac.uk
April 2024 - Research Culture
APRIL 2024: RESEARCH CULTURE
A 'research culture' is the collective result of the way we think and feel and act.
Our Culture is created by the choices we make and the way we behave towards each other, within our research institutions. It is also a product of how we engage and interact with others in our global research fields, interpersonally, or through the research discoveries and outputs we produce. Our Research Culture is strongly driven by the way we define, support, evaluate and reward success in research, and who we recognise as having contributed to that success.
For the programme this month, the Research Culture Team are sharing updates on Research Culture at the University of Glasgow. Below are events and initiatives for all members of the research community.
- 'Update and Connect' online event (Monday 22nd April 15:00-16:00)
- Zoom Link https://uofglasgow.zoom.us/j/87932123574 and Meeting ID: 879 3212 3574
- Join us for an update on Research Culture at the University of Glasgow and to give you time to connect with colleagues from across the university to discuss and share your understanding / thoughts / engagement with research culture and consider research culture in your space and the challenges / actions / opportunities.
- Contact Us! At researchculture@glasgow.ac.uk and Meet the Team
- Find out more: check out our Research Culture webpages which provide an overview of Research Culture at UofG
- Research Culture Roadshow: Research Culture is going on tour to a campus location near you!
- Join the Research Culture Commons:
- Who is the Research Culture Commons for?
- Join the Culture Commons Community MS Teams space
- Become a Culture Commons Co-Lead: email researchculture@glasgow.ac.uk
- Find out more - a community conversation
- What does Research Culture mean to you? Add your thoughts, ideas and perspective to this Padlet to create a collective expression of Research Culture at UofG
- Pathfinder: explore the initiatives supporting researchers with career awareness, options, planning, and transition
- Further reading:
- Research Culture and Research Integrity - from reflection to action
- Setting the Culture - a Research Culture and Researcher Development Team perspective
March '24 - Collaboration
MARCH 2024: COLLABORATION
"Collaboration" is one of the three major themes in the university's Research Strategy which recognises the value in combining diverse perspectives to solve big problems.
Our Code of Good Practice in Research has the simple instruction that hides complexity: "Researchers should ensure that collaborators are also made aware of their obligations where relevant to the project". Further complexity comes from consideration of the wider ethics of collaboration: addressing power imbalance and ensuring all can contribute and benefit from the activity.
Successful collaboration rarely happens by chance: anticipating the challenges and deploying strategies for success are crucial steps. This month we share some resources but also request you to share your experiences so we can crowd-source our own collection of wisdom and tips...
For the programme this month, we will be at the Research Staff Assembly and have a range of useful resources to share:
- Join Us! We're running a session as part of the March Research Staff Assembly (13th March 2024, 10am-11am): sign up here. We'd like to hear from you - please share your experiences with all forms of research collaboration (e.g. academic, community, international, creative, interdisciplinary) in our Padlet.
- Power relations: a short video on power relations is available in these slides from a SHAPE Collaboration event
- Community Engagement: a training course is available on Community Engagement: An Exploration
- Guidance for ECRs: 'Research Collaborations: A guide for early career researchers by early career researchers'
- Interdisciplinary networking: find out about upcoming interdisciplinary networking events run by the Strategic Research Initiatives team
- Resources for research teams: explore the resource repository with guidance covering grant proposals, Narrative CVs and more!
- Equitable Partnerships: explore a webinar (pre-recorded) from our PGR series - linked from the Padlet
- Ethical Challenges in International Research: discover the guidance from the Glasgow Centre for International Developmenton conducting work ethically and in equitable partnership throughout the research journey.
February '24 - Sustainability
FEBRUARY 2024: SUSTAINABILITY
The University declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has published a Climate Change Strategy that commits us to being net zero for greenhouse gas for the next 10 years, in line with UN Environment Programme recommendations. The Code of Good Practice in Research asks the research community to consider the wider environmental impact of their activities - staff can use the University of Glasgow Carbon Footprint Tool to determine the carbon footprint of either a research project or group.
The Centre for Sustainable Solutions are hosting the Sustainability theme for February, with a great line-up of activities and resources below:
- Join us! The Centre for Sustainable Solutions hosts a regular Networking Meeting which brings together anyone working at the University whose remit (or just personal interest) is Sustainability. Our next meeting takes place for an hour on Thursday 29 February at 10.30am, in room 237A of the ARC. We will give an overview of the Centre’s current activity and then we will hear from Rory Porteous, Sustainable Lab Adviser on the S-Labs project. Please email Nicola.smock@glasgow.ac.uk if you’d like to join the meeting.
- Take 5: Watch our Centre for Sustainable Solutions film
- The longer read: Find out more about GALLANT’s community work
- Explore: A shared vision for a greener, fairer, prosperous Glasgow - the Glasgow Thriving Portrait
- You might also want to take one of our courses
- Why not sign up to receive the monthly Centre for Sustainable Solutions newsletter
Contact us: The Centre for Sustainable Solutions is making new connections every day and we are keen to enable everyone at the University of Glasgow to act toward a sustainable and just future. If you’d like to find out more, or just want to get in touch, please contact us at sustainable-solutions@glasgow.ac.uk
January '24 - Trusted Research
JANUARY 2024: TRUSTED RESEARCH
Our Code of Good Practice in Research emphasises the importance of governance and compliance as well as more practical advice. Some governance, such as ethics, is directly linked to the quality of the research. Other governance requirements – such as Trusted Research, this month’s theme – address different concerns, in this case national security and international collaborations. There is complex legislation – specifically “Export Controls” and the “National Security and Investment Act” - that we need to comply with. Awareness is essential for anyone working in STEM as concerns are primarily with technology or any research that could potentially have a dual purpose (e.g. viruses or pathogens).
Particularly relevant for COSE and parts of MVLS, we encourage you to:
- Take the 15 min introductory Moodle Course to understand the big picture and get a general outline of the legislation we need to comply with
- Concerned about the implications of this for researchers? Join us for an online discussion with Professor Andy Wright (COSE Professor in Practice) about managing the challenges and the funder perspective: Wed 17th Jan, 1-2pm. More information and booking here (UofG login needed).
- Confused about Export Controls? Bring your questions to discuss at our monthly drop-in online Trusted Research Q&A: Thur 18th Jan, 12-1pm. Find the Zoom link in the Moodle course above.
Contact the team: contact us on compliance-support@gla.ac.uk with your questions or to assess planned activities. We are the Research Governance and Integrity team.
December '23 - Open Research
DECEMBER 2023
This month we're handing over to the Research Information Management Team who are promoting open research!
The Research Information Management team can offer advice and support on all aspects of open research. The main areas in which researchers seek our advice are research data management and open access for publications and other research outputs, but we’re also happy to offer guidance on open research activity at any other point in the research lifecycle – for instance, sharing protocols or pre-registering your research.
We’d encourage you to take some time this month to refresh or expand your understanding of open research practices in your area – are there any simple steps you can take to make your research more transparent, accountable or reproducible?
- Join us! An Open Research Q&A session on Thursday 14 December 12-1.30pm open to all staff and PGRs: please post your questions on the Padlet or on the sign-up form.
- Take 5: consider how you could take some simple steps while you’re setting up a research project to ensure that your research can be shared as widely as possible. Our project initiation workflow illustrates how you can ‘bake in’ data sharing and openness into your project if you plan for it in advance.
- Take 10: we’ve recently updated our open access process for publications, to reflect the new Research Publications and Copyright policy.
- The longer read: Our Introduction to Research Data Management Moodle course is a good starting point if you’re new to open research, and takes about an hour to complete.
- You might also want to consider signing up for this UKRIO webinar on open research practices for early career researchers
Contact the team: if you have any questions about open research, you can contact the Research Information Management team at research-datamanagement@glasgow.ac.uk. If you’d like advice on open access for publications, or if you’ve had a publication accepted, please email research-openaccess@glasgow.ac.uk.
November '23 - Authorship
NOVEMBER 2023
This month we are promoting good authorship practice as part of the wider Good Research Practice campaign. Our team handles authorship queries, and the occasional authorship misconduct case, so we are acutely aware that [a] it’s not always an easy topic to navigate, [b] practice does not always match expectations and [c] sharing of good practice is extremely helpful!
During this month, we’ll be getting your views and developing support via our draft Authorship and CRediT guidance.
We’d encourage you to take a little time this month to refresh or expand your understanding of negotiating authorship, perhaps also to reflect on whether your subject area has its own approaches (Physics!) and how well they are working.
- Join us! An Authorship Q&A webinar Wednesday 22nd November, 12-1.30pm open to all staff and PGRs: please post your questions on the Padlet or on the sign-up form.
- Take 5: we cover Authorship in a short module within the Staff Research Integrity training. You can review this here if you’ve not got time for the full course (or if you’re a PGR who has completed the PGR training)
- The longer read: Is it time for a major change? This recent LERU paper is one of many endorsements for a “movie credits” approach rather than the current system.
A reminder too that if you have an issue with authorship, you can contact your Research Integrity Champion or Adviser, or our central team on research-integrity@gla.ac.uk, for an informal and confidential discussion in the first instance and we can support you if further action is necessary.
October '23 - Introduction
OCTOBER 2023
In October, we launch the Good Practice activities for 2023-2024 to support the revised Code of Good Practice in Research and explore some of the content in more depth.
Watch the 2min video where we explain what a “Code” is meant to do and urge you to “Read it, discuss it, share it":
Introduction Video - Code of Good Practice in Research
Share your view: one Code of Practice for all subject areas is ambitious - help us capture the complexity and richness of our research community by leaving a quick response on our Padlet: "What does 'good practice in research' look like for you/your discipline?" You might want to flag up your particular passion or concern or highlight a specific case study? Or just comment or "like" someone else's response. Is there anything missing from the Code? You can note that too!” Padlet: "Good Practice in Research" (padlet.com)