Beyond Bad Apples: Towards a Behavioral and Evidence-Based Approach to Promote Research Ethics and Research Integrity in Europe

Objectives

The main goal of the BEYOND project is to robustly explore and advance individual and institutional responsibilities in research misconduct and in the promotion of research ethics and integrity. The project aims to achieve this goal by developing co-created, needs-and-case-based, streamlined, and best practices-based measures meant to engage, guide, and equip research-related stakeholders through guidance and educational instruments. Specific objectives are:

  • Identification of behavioral knowledge and needs through a state-of-the-art review of personal and institutional responsibilities on research ethics and integrity
  • Facilitation of bottom-up and solution-oriented public consultations on research ethics and integrity needs, knowledge, and perspectives on the efficacy of research ethics and integrity interventions
  • Designing and testing of psychologically informed interventions as methodologies to promote research ethics and integrity and address research misconduct from the perspective of personal and institutional responsibilities
  • Development of methodologies to measure the short-, medium-, and long-term impact of research ethics and integrity trainings on attitudes and behaviors of students and researchers
  • Provision of guidance through a best-practice manual, guidelines that supplement standard operating procedures, and a 2030 roadmap towards improving the research ethics and integrity culture
  • Fostering of broad uptake of project outputs through strategic synergy building and the provision of training materials that supplement existing research ethics and integrity training materials

Outputs

Improved understanding of psychological and behavioral drivers of research misconduct

  • Training materials
  • Training evaluation methodologies
    Behavioral interventions to promote research integrity
  • Guideline on research ethics and integrity governance that will supplement existing standard operating procedures
  • Best practice manual based on case studies of successful implemented measures to prevent research misconduct and promote research ethics and integrity
  • A policy roadmap on research ethics and integrity promotion

Key project results/activities for RECs and ethics experts

D1.1 “Insights from the literature review on behavioural ethics, moral psychology & case-based methodologies and review of real-life case studies of research misconduct” reviews behavioural ethics, moral psychology, case-based methodologies, and real-life cases of research misconduct, research ethics infringements, and questionable research practices. The findings from this review shed light on previously unrecognised factors influencing these phenomena, offering valuable insights for addressing them effectively. Such insights are particularly relevant for RECs, which often bear the responsibility of proactively identifying and mitigating research integrity issues before they escalate.

In BEYOND’s first policy brief (D7.3), the effects of research misconduct – from administrators investing extra effort and resources to deal with misconduct cases to patients facing health and care implications from flawed research – are described as diverse and significant. By understanding the multifaceted impacts of research misconduct, RECs can advocate more effectively for measures to mitigate issues related to research misconduct, research ethics infringements, and questionable research practices.

In D2.1. “Consultation paper and plan to engage the public and expert stakeholders”, RECs are noted as key actors in addressing research ethics and integrity issues. While RECs primarily evaluate ethical aspects of research studies before they begin, their involvement in the BEYOND project is crucial for accessing new tools and approaches to strengthen research integrity and ethics. Their participation ensures that interventions and recommendations are relevant and applicable to the challenges they face in their oversight roles.

Duration
January 2023 - December 2025

Website
https://beyondbadapples.eu/

Cordis Entry
cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101094714