Research ethics and integrity

Research ethics and integrity underpins excellent research, and is at the heart of what constitutes good research practice. Here you can find training developed to support researchers from all disciplines and at various stages of their career paths to enhance their research practice, as well as further support for research integrity.

Introduction to Research Ethics and Integrity

About the online courses

Online training that will introduce key concepts of research ethics and integrity and provide an overview of the issues you need to consider. 

This online training has been developed to support researchers from all disciplines and at various stages of their career paths to enhance their research practice. This training will introduce the concepts of research ethics and integrity, a core part of good research practice. 

By the end of the training you will: 

• Develop a greater understanding of the core principles and practices of responsible and ethical research conduct, and; 
• Be able to discern what areas may need further support or training to enhance your research practice. 

This training will link to further guidance and training available within the University of Edinburgh, and collate key sources of information for further support. 

What the course includes

The course includes three modules developed to support good research practice at the University of Edinburgh, including: 

1. Introduction to research integrity; 

2. Introduction to research ethics, and; 

3. Good conduct in authorship and publication practice. 

Together, these three modules provide a foundation for conducting responsible and ethical research at the University of Edinburgh.  

The course is self-paced and each module will take approximately 1-2 hours to complete. You can leave and return to where you left off at any time

How to enrol

Staff can enrol on the course through People and Money. Please follow the link below to the relevant 'IAD - Good Research Practice' Learning Community, where all of the three modules are available for you enrol on or access..

Two modules are online courses you can then enrol on; these are listed as the 'IAD - Introduction to Research Integrity' course, and 'IAD - Introduction to Research Ethics' course. The third module 'Good conduct in authorship and publication practice' is not yet available as an online course - it is available in the below Learning Community as an additional PDF Guide, downloadable in the Related Materials section.

If you are a student: Please go to the student webpages instead to find out how to enrol.

Will my attendance be recorded?

People and Money will automatically track completion of the training modules. The IAD will not issue a certificate of attendance.

Who do I contact if I have comments or problems accessing the course?

If you have problems accessing the course please email iad.researchers@ed.ac.uk

We welcome comments on the course so please contact us if you have any feedback.  

Further support for research integrity

The University of Edinburgh’s central webpages on Research Integrity has further guidance on relevant policies, codes of practice, further training options, guidance and support, and can be accessed via the Edinburgh Research Office.

For up to date information and further details please visit the Edinburgh Research Office website