Duty of Care

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Deans of seven local medical and healthcare schools issue joint statement to decline research funding from tobacco industry

The deans of seven UGC-funded faculties of medicine, Chinese medicine, health and social sciences, and sister schools in the self-financed sector jointly issued a statement to announce that they will not be accepting funding from or pursuing work for a research foundation and its affiliates funded by Philip Morris International. The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World was newly established by the tobacco manufacturer with a US$1 billion contribution. ... Source: https://www.med.hku.hk/news/press/statement-on-the-foundation-for-a-smoke-free-world-and-tobacco-duty-increase-in-the-2018-9-budget

Categories: Case Studies, Discussions, Duty of Care|

No tobacco industry funding of education and research activities in Hong Kong tertiary institutions (in relation to Research Integrity)

HUCOM (Heads of Universities Committee) took a decision back in 2002 that tertiary institutions would not accept tobacco industry funding of education and research activities. Staff have been advised accordingly since then. Source: HKU Research Services

Categories: Case Studies, Discussions, Duty of Care|

Dimensions of culturally sensitive research

In an increasingly internationalised academic environment, it is common that you may encounter subjects of another cultural background. Research ethics call for a culturally sensitive approach to this kind of research, because shared context can foster mutual understanding and trust and thus help to obtain the optimal outcome. However, on what amounts to cultural sensitivity in research, scholars differ in their understanding. Banister (2014) together with other co-authors defined cultural sensitive research as “research methods that have been adapted to incorporate knowledge of a cultural

Categories: Discussions, Duty of Care|

Social media research: does it constitute human subjects research?

For research involving human subjects, issues of privacy, confidentiality and consent will more readily arise and researchers will need to comply with the relevant regulations. Thus to tell whether a project constitutes human subjects research becomes important, especially in borderline cases, such as social media research. Megan Moreno together with her colleagues looked into this question. In their co-authored article "Ethics of social media research: common concerns and practical considerations", social media research was categorised into three types: observational, interactive and interview. Under the United

Categories: Discussions, Duty of Care|

Ethical issues around social media research

It is widely recognised that research involving human subjects should be given extra care. However the line seems muddled when it comes to research on social media posts. On the one hand, the posts are publicly available information. But on the other hand, individuals are behind these posts and social media research often requires deep qualitative investigation. Two scholars from the University of Colorado Boulder, Melissa Bica and Jennings Anderson, looked into the ethical issues around social media research with Twitter as an example. Despite

Categories: Duty of Care, Good Research Practices|

How to ensure safety in sensitive research?

Sensitive research refers to those the discussion of which tends to generate an emotional response, such as traumatic experience or death or sex. To ensure safety, both in the physical and psychological sense, for all participants, from interviewers to interviewees, it is crucial to be responsible. Physical safety issues may arise for example in studies of domestic violence or child abuse. An appropriate assessment of the source and nature of the threat should be carried out and a clear protocol should be developed around it. Issues

Categories: Care and Safety, Duty of Care, Good Research Practices|

Why is keeping original records so important?

Data recording and protection are discussed specially in the Office of Research Integrity’s Introduction to Responsible Conduct of Research. (s.6b & s. 6c) It details how hardcopy or electronic evidence should be recorded and stored respectively. These are also emphasised in the policy on research integrity of a number of educational institutions. For example, in the Guidelines for Responsible Conduct of Research, it is stated that “If mistakes are to be corrected, a thin line should be drawn through the erroneous entry so as not

Categories: Duty of Care, Good Research Practices, Proper Data Handling|

You did the research, but do you own the data?

As a researcher, have you ever considered whether you have the ownership to the data you may have complied and based your research on? In the Office of Research Integrity’s Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research, the issue of data ownership is named as an unresolved and controversial issue in data management. (Section 6e.) The term ownership in this context entails both the possession of and responsibility for information. The possession implies the control over its access, creation, modification and etc., and the right

Categories: Duty of Care, Proper Data Handling|

Should you accept a funding opportunity limited by conditions imposed by the sponsor?

Professor Peter Miller and others apply the PERIL analysis to determine if a funding opportunity which is accompanied by conditions should be accepted. Case study: PERIL analysis of a funding opportunity limited by conditions imposed by a collaborating organisation A residential rehabilitation charity approaches you to collaborate in an application to fund doctoral research into the long-term effect of its project. The charity reports that it has been involved in research previously and has found it beneficial. The methodology is discussed and agreed. The application

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Should you accept research funding from a tobacco company?

Peter Miller and others apply the PERIL analysis proposed by Peter Adams to determine if research funding offered by a tobacco company should be accepted. Case study: Funding opportunity from a tobacco company A university-based School of Medicine distributes an email announcing to all faculty and staff the availability of a new research funding opportunity. The announcement reads: "Please see the link below for an available funding opportunity from the Philip Morris External Research Foundation". The website invited scientists to submit funding proposals to Philip

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