Institutional capacity to prevent and manage research misconduct: perspectives from Kenyan research regulators

Research Integrity and Peer Review

Research

Rose Ayikukwei¹  Eunice Kaguiri¹  Jepchirchir Kiplagat¹  Edwin Were²  Violet Naanyu³ 

[1] AMPATH Research Program, Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Box 4606 -30100, Eldoret, Kenya;Department of Reproductive Health, Moi University, Box 4606 -30100, Eldoret, Kenya;School of Arts and Social Sciences, Moi University, Box 3900 -30100, Eldoret, Kenya;

关键词: Prevention and management;    Research misconduct;    Institutional capacity;    Kenya;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s41073-023-00132-6

 received in 2022-08-23, accepted in 2023-03-29,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundResearch misconduct i.e. fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism is associated with individual, institutional, national, and global factors. Researchers' perceptions of weak or non-existent institutional guidelines on the prevention and management of research misconduct can encourage these practices. Few countries in Africa have clear guidance on research misconduct. In Kenya, the capacity to prevent or manage research misconduct in academic and research institutions has not been documented. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of Kenyan research regulators on the occurrence of and institutional capacity to prevent or manage research misconduct.MethodsInterviews with open-ended questions were conducted with 27 research regulators (chairs and secretaries of ethics committees, research directors of academic and research institutions, and national regulatory bodies). Among other questions, participants were asked: (1) How common is research misconduct in your view? (2) Does your institution have the capacity to preventresearch misconduct? (3) Does your institution have the capacity to manageresearch misconduct? Their responses were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded using NVivo software. Deductive coding covered predefined themes including perceptions on occurrence, prevention detection, investigation, and management of research misconduct. Results are presented with illustrative quotes.ResultsRespondents perceived research misconduct to be very common among students developing thesis reports. Their responses suggested there was no dedicated capacity to prevent or manage research misconduct at the institutional and national levels. There were no specific national guidelines on research misconduct. At the institutional level, the only capacity/efforts mentioned were directed at reducing, detecting, and managing student plagiarism. There was no direct mention of the capacity to manage fabrication and falsification or misconduct by faculty researchers.We recommend the development of Kenya code of conduct or research integrity guidelines that would cover misconduct.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1