As a world-class comprehensive university with research activities spanning all major disciplines, the University of Hong Kong realises the vital importance of research integrity. All members of the University must observe the highest standards of professional conduct and must comply with the following principles of research integrityin pursuing their research activities:
Interviewing vulnerable people – a University of Sheffield case study
The following is an extract from an article by Professor Jerry Wellington of the University of Sheffield in February 2014 (with emphasis added): Interviewing Vulnerable People in a Funded Evaluation This scenario is designed to
Responsibility towards research participants: HKU and other policies
When conducting research involving human participants, it is important to carry out the research in a manner that respects the dignity of the human participants. This is particularly relevant for those conducting empirical legal research,
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All researchers of the University must be committed to the principle of honesty in conducting research and in communicating research findings to the research community and the public. Honesty is required in presenting research goals and intentions, and in reporting procedures and findings. Such presentation and reporting must be full and fair. Objectivity of research requires maintenance of accuracy in the collection and reporting of data. Conclusions must be based on verifiable facts, and researchers should be impartial and be as transparent as possible (notwithstanding mindful of the secrecy requirement in filing of patents and know-hows) in the handling of data. Research findings should be made accessible to the research community for verification. All researchers have a duty of care to the human research participants, the animals, and the environment under study. They must be fair in giving credit for the work of other researchers who participate in the research. They have a responsibility in supervising and nurturing research students and early-career researchers, who will be researchers of the next generation. Positions of seniority or responsibility should never be abused so as to put pressure on colleagues or research students, for example, to forgo their right to proper acknowledgement of their contribution to the research or publication in question, or to add persons who have not significantly and/or substantially contributed to the research onto the authorship list.
In pursuing their research activities, members of the University should adhere to good research practices; should not engage in research misconduct such as plagiarism, fabrication, falsification or unauthorised use of data, improper ascription of authorship, non-disclosure of potential conflict of interestetc. (see Section 3 below). Relevant ethical approval must be obtained before the commencement of data collection. Misconduct or alleged misconduct in research will be dealt with in accordance with the Procedures for Dealing with Alleged Staff Misconduct in Research.