Research Publication Responsibility Guideline

Document Number	000857
Date Approved	25 June 2008

1.      Context

These Guidelines support Section 4.4: Publication and Dissemination of Research Findings, in the Responsible Conduct of Research Policy, and should be read in conjunction with that document.

2.      Intent

These Guidelines seek to promote the dissemination of research findings in a manor consistent with the requirements articulated in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.  It is recognised that compliance with these provisions may be dependent upon commercial publication restrictions and where these constraints remain consistent with the intent of the Code it is appropriate to comply with such requirements.

 

3.      Guidelines for Publishing Responsibilities

 

3.1.     Disseminating Research Findings

 

i.          Researchers must disseminate as full an account of their research findings as possible.

ii.          In line with this responsibility, researchers must ensure that:

·         the account is complete as commercially practicable, including where appropriate, negative findings, results contrary to the hypotheses and note the ratification of any clinical or animal research activity by the appropriate ethics committee;

·         a publication is in accordance with the Authorship of Research Policy;

·         theUniversity of Newcastle is listed as the affiliated institution in the author by-line on all publications;

·         publishing actions take account of any restrictions relating to intellectual property or culturally sensitive data; and

·         where feasible, and within the context of standard discipline practice, parties normally advised of research results should be provided with an appropriate summary of such results.

 

3.2.     Ensuring accuracy of publication and dissemination

 

            i.          Researchers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:

·         their findings are accurate and properly reported; and

·         they correct any misleading or inaccurate statements about their research.

3.3.     Citing others fully and appropriately

 

i.          Researchers must ensure that they cite other work appropriately when disseminating research findings. Failure to do so is plagiarism.

3.4.     Avoiding multiple submissions of research findings

 

i.          Researchers must recognise:

·         that it is not acceptable to include the same research findings in several publications, except in particular and clearly explained circumstances such as review articles, anthologies, collections or translations; and

·         that an author who submits substantially similar work to more than one publisher, or who submits work similar to work already published, must disclose this at the time of submission.

3.5.     Republishing

 

i.          Researchers must take all reasonable steps to obtain permission from the original publisher before republishing research findings.

3.6.     Disclosing research support

i.          Researchers must ensure that:

·         the research publication includes information on all sources of financial and in-kind support for the research, and any potential conflicts of interest; and

·         the host institution and funding sources of the research are acknowledged.

3.7.     Registering clinical trials

i.          Researchers must register clinical trials with the NHMRC Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry to promote access to information about all clinical trials.

 

3.8.     Managing confidentiality

i.          When the confidentiality requirements of a sponsor prevent or delay peer review until after the research results are delivered to the sponsor, the researcher must explain to the sponsor that the work has not been subject to peer review.

3.9.     Communicating research findings in the public arena.

 

i.                     Researchers should seek to communicate their findings to a range of audiences in accordance with the Media Policy (under development).

ii.                   Researchers should be aware of the difficulties of communicating their research findings to the wider community where there is no opportunity to review the report of discussions before it becomes public. They should therefore avail themselves of professional assistance and media training in communicating with the wider community.

iii.                  Researchers anticipating media interest subsequent to the publication of research outcomes should liaise with the Marketing and Public Relations Unit to coordinate responses to media enquiries.

iv.                 Researchers should be guided by the following points in relation to publicly communicating research findings:

■                     where any restrictions on communications that have been formally agreed with a the sponsor, these must be honoured;

■                     discussion should not usually occur until research findings have been evaluated through a peer review process whereby a scholarly work is scrutinised by experts in the same field or other appraisal processes that meet the standards of the discipline have been undertaken;

■                     to minimise misunderstandings, those directly impacted by the research including interested parties to the research or those given undertakings as part of the research process should be informed of the research findings before they are made public; and

■                     care should be taken to explain the status of the project eg whether it is still in progress, is a preliminary conference report, or has been finalised.

From Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2007 Part A Section 4

4.      Related Documents

Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research

Authorship of Research Policy 000856

Media Policy (under development)

Hunter Medical Research Institute Policy – 000642

Approval Authority	Academic Senate
Date Approved	25 June 2008
Date for Review	25 June 2011
Policy Contact Position	Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research