The University of Melbourne
Research Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research
Checklist for Research Students and their Supervisors
Introduction
How can research higher degree supervisors help to actively promote the responsible conduct of
research? What are some of the issues that supervisors and their students need to work through?
This is the first edition of a new checklist designed to assist supervisors and students to not only
meet their obligations under the University’s Code of Conduct for Research but also engage in a
broader dialogue about research integrity and the responsible conduct of research.
The checklist draws upon and refers to a number of key policy documents setting out the
University’s standards and requirements in relation to the conduct of research. The starting point
is the Code of Conduct for Research (Regulation 17.1.R8) (the Code) which prescribes standards of
work performance and ethical conduct expected of all persons engaged in research in The
University of Melbourne.
All researchers (staff and students) are required to familiarise themselves with this Code and
related policies and to take personal responsibility for ensuring that their specific research
practices meet these standards.
Academic heads of departments and supervisors of research students have an additional
responsibility: to actively ensure that their staff and students have access to the Code and other
relevant information and advice to support their compliance with the requirements and to
promote the highest of standards in research integrity. The checklist attached is provided to assist
supervisors to fulfil this responsibility to their research students.
In working through each of the items on the list, supervisors can discuss
 what research integrity means to them, to the University, to researchers and the community;
 what the University requires of all its staff and students;
 relevant ‘discipline codes’; and
 project-specific requirements (e.g. laboratory notebook keeping or human ethics approvals).
It is recommended that supervisors and their students use this checklist at the commencement of
candidature, come back to it during various phases of the project and review it at least annually.
The Concept of Research Integrity
For the individual researcher, integrity embodies above all a commitment to intellectual honesty
and personal responsibility for one's actions and to a range of practices that characterise the
responsible conduct of research, including
 intellectual honesty in proposing, performing, and reporting research;
 accuracy in representing contributions to research proposals and reports;
 fairness in peer review;
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
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transparency in conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest;
protection of human participants in the conduct of research;
humane care of animals in the conduct of research; and
effective record-keeping.
For an institution, it is a commitment to creating an environment that promotes responsible
conduct by embracing standards of excellence, trustworthiness, and lawfulness.1
Developed by the Melbourne Research Office in consultation with the School of Graduate Studies (November
2005)
1
See Integrity in Scientific Research: Creating an Environment That Promotes Responsible Conduct (2002): A Report of the US
National Academies. (http://www.nap.edu/books/0309084792/html/ )
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Topic
Code of Conduct
Recommended Action for the supervisor
Provide your student with a copy of the
University’s Code of Conduct for Research.
Resources
Date
discussed
(or N/A)
Comments
(incl. actions arising from meeting and
completion dates)
University Statute –
Code of Conduct for
Research
Discuss the Code; its purpose and main elements.
Invite discussion or clarification of any of its
provisions.
Draw attention to any relevant discipline-specific
or professional codes of conduct. Discuss why they
were developed and their major provisions.
Local policies and
guidelines
Conflict of Interest
Discuss/debate what some of the consequences
might be if the requirements of such codes are not
followed.
Provide your student with any faculty or
departmental policy documents or guidelines
pertaining to the conduct of research in their
department.
Discuss the concept of ‘conflict of interest’ in
research with the student and direct them to the
University’s policy.
Research Office’s
Conflict of Interest
webpage
Discuss any potential conflicts of interest that may
be associated with their project and agree on how
they will be managed in accordance with the
University’s Code.
Research Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research - Checklist for Research Students and their Supervisors
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Topic
Ethics committee
approvals and
regulatory
requirements
Licenses, permits
and permissions
Recommended Action for the supervisor
Discuss with your student whether their research
will require approval from –
 Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee
 Human Research Ethics Committee (or
Department Human Ethics Advisory Group)
 Gene Technology and Biosafety Committee
Resources
Date
discussed
(or N/A)
Comments
(incl. actions arising from meeting and
completion dates)
Research Office’s
Ethics website
Ensure all ethical and related approvals are in place
Discuss with your student whether there are any
licences, permits or permission necessary to their
research that must be obtained prior to research
commencing, eg
 import approvals for materials,
 licences to access certain areas,
 licences to use certain materials,
 permissions from government agencies or
communities.
including where projects may involve
 Native fauna or flora
 Historical or cultural artefacts
 Travel permits
 Access to premises or regions
 Scheduled poisons
 Scheduled carcinogens
 Closed radiation sources
Research Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research - Checklist for Research Students and their Supervisors
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Topic
Authorship
Recommended Action for the supervisor
Resources
Discuss the University’s requirements for a person
to be attributed as an author of a publication.
University Statute –
Code of Conduct for
Research
Date
discussed
(or N/A)
Comments
(incl. actions arising from meeting and
completion dates)
Discuss “up front” the publication strategies and
recognition of contributions that should apply to
the student’s project.
Revisit these prior to work being prepared or
submitted for publications; always agree on
authorship and attribution in each specific instance.
Research Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research - Checklist for Research Students and their Supervisors
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Topic
Management of
Research Data and
Records
Recommended Action for the supervisor
Discuss with the student how they plan to collect,
store and use the research data and records
generated by their research.
Consider the following issues –
 Storage – location and identification
 Security and protection from
damage/destruction
 Accessibility
 Removal or destruction
 Privacy, confidentiality, restrictions
 Discipline-specific practices and codes
And where applicable:
 Sponsored research – if the research is
externally funded, are there any conditions of
the grant or contract that affect what data is
collected or stored?
 Laboratory notebooks
 Records required for patenting
 Human participants (incl. consent forms and
clinical trials)
 Indigenous communities and ethnographic
data
 Potential archival and long-term value
Resources
Date
discussed
(or N/A)
Comments
(incl. actions arising from meeting and
completion dates)
Research Office’s
Management of
Research Data and
Records webpage
Research Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research - Checklist for Research Students and their Supervisors
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Topic
Intellectual
Property (IP)
Environment,
Health and Safety
Recommended Action for the supervisor
Have a discussion with student about “IP” and its
effective management, e.g.
 What constitutes IP in this project
 How to protect it
 How to exploit it
 Use of the other people’s IP
- Legal Obligations
- Moral or ethical obligations
- Conventions and codes in academic and
research organisations
- IP in collaborative projects
Ensure that the student has completed local EHS
induction and knows their local EHS management
representative and staff representatives. Make
arrangements for this if necessary.
Resources
Date
discussed
(or N/A)
Comments
(incl. actions arising from meeting and
completion dates)
Intellectual Property
Statute and Guides
to IP for Students
and Supervisors
University EHS
website
Discuss with the student any specific EHS issues
related to their research work – eg. laboratory
safety, hazards, fieldwork, travel overseas.
Discuss with the student the need to complete EHS
risk assessments for the activities to be undertaken
throughout the research project.
Discuss the EHS supervisory arrangements with
the student.
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Topic
Advice and
complaints about
research conduct
Recommended Action for the supervisor
Explain where advice and assistance can be sought,
and what the procedures and structures are for
dealing with questions, concerns or complaints
about the conduct of research
Resources
Date
discussed
(or N/A)
Comments
(incl. actions arising from meeting and
completion dates)
Research Office’s
Research Integrity
web pages
Postgraduate
Association
website-
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A. Initial discussions at the start of candidature
The initial discussion of these issues should be signed-off as completed within three (3) months of the commencement of
candidature:
Supervisor
Name: ..........................................................
Signature: .....................................................
Date: ....................................
Student
Name: ..........................................................
Signature: .....................................................
Date: ....................................
B. Review at least annually. Update the sign-off
C. As the project unfolds, and new issues arise, circumstances change, e.g. new parties come on board, new partnerships
develop, IP develops, there should be ongoing discussion of integrity-related matters. If you wish, add notes re these
discussions.
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