Institutional Procedures as a Tool to Promote Responsible Research Environment Hakan S. Orer, MD, PhD Koç University School of Medicine ORPHEUS Turkish Pharmacological Society EPHAR 7 th European Congress of Pharmacology Istanbul, 29.06.2016
Jan 18, 2017
Institutional Procedures as a Tool to Promote Responsible Research
Environment
Hakan S. Orer, MD, PhD Koç University School of Medicine
ORPHEUS Turkish Pharmacological Society
EPHAR 7th European Congress of Pharmacology
Istanbul, 29.06.2016
How frequent is the irresponsible conduct?
• The rate of retraction is faster than the increase in total number of scientific publications
Retracted papers per fiscal year (FY) Percent increase
htt
p:/
/ret
ract
ion
wat
ch.c
om
/20
16
/03
/24
/ret
ract
ion
s-ri
se-t
o-n
earl
y-7
00
-in
-fis
cal-
year
-20
15
-an
d-p
sst-
this
-is-
ou
r-3
00
0th
-po
st/#
mo
re-3
81
47
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Aug-10 Jan-11 Jun-11 Nov-11 Apr-12 Sep-12 Feb-13 Jul-13 Dec-13 May-14 Oct-14 Mar-15 Aug-15 Jan-16 Jun-16
Retracted papers
Institutional dilemma
• Failure to transmit codes of conduct from one generation to the next may affect scientific integrity at a personal level
Decaying institutional culture
Expansion of the research system
Accelerated pace of the research
“Publish or perish” pressure
Tough competition for limited funding
Loss of “institutional memory” on best practices
Ensuring research integrity
• Ecosystem
Individual researchers
Research institutions
Funding agencies
Professional societies
Science academies
Legislative bodies
Judiciary bodies
Focus:
• The role of institutions in the responsible conduct of scientific research
SUPERVISOR GRADUATE STUDENT
GRADUATE SCHOOL
FUNDING AGENCIES JOURNAL
EDITORS
PROFESSIONAL BODIES
Institutions need to put effort…
• Promotion of research integrity
• Adoption of good practices
– Education & training
– Handling irresponsible research: investigations, penalties…
Consistency and complementarity are the key
Institutional tools to oversee scientific conduct
• Curriculum
• Guidelines
• Common understanding of key definitions
• Policies & procedures for detecting incidents of misconduct
• Discourage questionable research practices
Evidence for Institutional Best Practices
• Does the curriculum contain courses related to: the integrity of the research process? the personal development of the PhD candidates?
• Do PhD candidates apply for ethical approval of their research and/or thesis projects?
• Is there any institutional guideline on data recording and laboratory notebook keeping?
• Do PhD candidates sign an "ethical conduct contract" upon starting their thesis studies?
• Do PhD candidates and their supervisors sign a contract on mutual responsibilities and duties?
ORPHEUS Best Practice Questionnaire
• 63 responders from 31 countries
4 2
1
2
1 2
1
2
2
2
2 3
1 1 1
1
1
1
1
2
1
7
2
1
1
1
2
10
2
Canada 1
1
ww
w.m
aps.
goo
gle.
com
Questionnaire turnout
Description Number
• ORPHEUS members (2016) 105
• Participants 63
• Number of Institutions, participated in the survey 51
ORPHEUS member institutions
Responders from non-member institutions
48
3
• More than one answer from the same institution 9
• Academics vs Students
Academic staff
Students
57
6
• Members only
Academic staff
Students
45
3
Questionnaire
• Responders are mostly senior faculty members
61,30% 14,50%
4,80%
6,50%
12,90%
Title
Professor
Associate professor
Assistant professor
Dr
Other 78,70%
8,20%
6,60%
3,30% 3,30%
Position
Academic (Faculty)
Administrative
PhD Student
MSc Student
Other
Feedback collection from PhD students
• More than half of the responders claim that feedback from PhD students is obtained at every milestone of the study
• More than 80% declared that some feedback is obtained during PhD study
52,38%
30,16%
4,76%
1,59% 7,94%
3,17%
Yes, periodically at every milestone of theirstudies
Yes, but not systematic
Yes, only after grade courses
Yes, only at the exit
No
Other
Supervisors
1,59%
50,79%
25,40%
22,22%
How many supervisors do your PhD candidates usually have?
None
1 Supervisor
2 Supervisors
Other75,81%
24,19%
Do your PhD candidates have the right to choose their supervisors?
Yes
No
Does your institution have a formal training program for
supervisors?
Yes, mandatory
Yes, voluntary
No
Integration into the scientific community
• PhD candidates are encouraged to go and present their studies at scientific meetings
• Being able to publish the “thesis work” is widely accepted
80,60%
14,50%
4,80%
Publications out of thesis project
Yes, mandatory
Yes, voluntary
No73,00%
14,30%
6,30%
6,30%
Going to meetings
Yes
No
Not sure...
Other
How these goals can be achieved?
• What is the institutional climate that fosters high standards of scientific research?
• How PhD students are guided throughout their studies?
Curriculum
• While mandatory training in bioethics and biostatistics has become almost universal, there is room for improvement in topics related to “good scientific practice”
• Laboratory animal use and good clinical practice courses are mostly offered if deemed necessary
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Bioethics
Responsible conduct
Biosafety
Intellectual property rights
GCP (Good Clinical Practice)
Laboratory animal use
Data keeping, laboratory notebook
Experimental design
Biostatistics
Other
Formal Training Courses
Offered courses
Mandatory
In the way to become independent researcher
• Most generic skills training is focused on boosting research performance, yet other aspects of the daily routine are needed to be taken care of
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Time management
Stress management
Networking
Conflict resolution
Presentation skills
Grant writing
Scientific publication skills
Generic skills training
Institutional best practices
• Ethics committees are largely in place • Less than half of the responders pointed out that there
is a guideline on data recording
90,50%
90,50%
31,70%
29% 0%
50%
100%
Ethics committee approval
38,10%
61,90%
Guidelines on data recording & laboratory book keeping
Yes
NoProjects on Social studies
Projects on Human Subjects
Projects on Animal subjects
Projects on Field studies
Mentor-mentee relationship: How structured?
• The majority of institutions stay off the mentor-mentee relationship
Ethical conduct contract
Yes
No
Mentor-mentee contract
Yes
No
Conclusion
• Institutional climate is important in the maintenance of scientific integrity
• A more structured mentor-mentee relationship could help to foster a quality culture
• Institutions concentrate their “training” effort towards the making of science, rather than generic skills
– More emphasis may be needed to develop generic skills of the candidates
Sustainability is the key