East
Carolina University Faculty Manual
PART
VII.
RESEARCH
INFORMATION
VI. Policy
and Procedures on Ethics in Research and Creative Activities (Formerly Appendix U)
A. Policy
Faculty, staff, post doctoral fellows and students of
East Carolina University have the responsibility to seek honestly and to
promulgate ethically the truth in all phases of work. This responsibility
governs not only the production and dissemination
of research and creative activities, but also all applications for funding,
reports to funding agencies, and teaching
and publication of teaching materials.
East
Carolina University subscribes to the following principles in its research and
creative activities:
1. Honesty and truth must underlie all
professional relationships of faculty, staff, post doctoral fellows and
students with those in their profession, the academic community, and the
public.
2. Fabrication and falsification of information
that a researcher claims is based on experimentation or observation are
unethical.
3. Intentionally selecting data or the treatment
of data to present views known by the researcher to be false is unethical.
4. Plagiarism, defined here as dissemination
under one's own name of the tangible products of another person's work without
due credit to that person, is not acceptable.
5. Other practices that seriously deviate from
those that are commonly accepted within the scientific or academic community
for proposing, conducting, or reporting research are not acceptable.
6. Publication of essentially the same article
in more than one journal of a study without citing the duplication is
unethical, as is any equivalent duplicity.
7. Faculty
and staff members must be fully conversant with and able to defend their part
in any work disseminated with their permission under their names and should be
generally conversant with the said work as a whole. The guidelines of the
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors are, in part, that
"authorship should be based only on substantial contributions to (a) the
conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data; (b) drafting the article or revising it critically
for important intellectual content; and on (c) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions (a), (b) and (c) must all be met. Participation solely in the acquisition of
funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship. General supervision of the research group is
also not sufficient for authorship.
8. Faculty
and staff members must list co‑authors of a work, disseminated in any
form, but only with those persons' expressed consent. The unwarranted inclusion
of co‑authors who have not been substantially involved in the work is
unethical and may lead to violations of item 7., above.
9. Students completing theses or taking research
courses for credit should not be relegated to purely routine work without
training or participating in the design of the project or the analysis of the
data. Therefore, the involvement of unpaid student assistants in research must
be structured to enhance students' education and creative activities. Graduate students must be authors on
publications that contain substantial parts of their thesis and/or
dissertation. The chair and/or members
of graduate student’s thesis or dissertation committee should encourage the
student to prepare a manuscript(s) for publication based on his or her thesis
or dissertation research. If a student
prepares a manuscript for publication based on a thesis or dissertation, he or
she should be the first author on the resulting publication. Service on a thesis and/or dissertation
committee does not in itself entitle a faculty member to co-authorship of a
manuscript or an abstract unless the provisions of this section (Section V.A.7
above) are met.
10. When it is appropriate for students to participate
as subjects in research, faculty and staff must assure potential subjects
that participation is absolutely voluntary, that participation as a research
subject shall not be a course requirement, that participation shall have educational
value, that students shall be told at the beginning of the course if there
are to be opportunities for extra credit, that alternative opportunities for
extra credit shall be available for students not wishing to participate as
subjects in research, and that students may withdraw from participation for
extra credit at any time without penalty. (See Part VII, Section IV, Principles and Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects
of Research above.)
11. In all cases of research involving human beings
or animals, faculty and staff members must be familiar with and adhere to special regulations and issues of
ethics and humane treatment associated with research on these subjects. (See Part VII, Section II, Animal Care and Use in
Research and Instruction above.)
12. Faculty and staff members must comply with all
regulations and laws affecting research and publication (including fiscal
management, the use of hazardous materials and patents, licensing, technology
transfer), whether these be derived from
the grantor, the local community, the university, or the state or federal
government. Violation of copyright laws
or the use of materials, developed by others, for personal profit is unethical.
All members of the university community
have a personal responsibility for implementing this policy in their research
and creative activities.
B. Procedures for Reporting, Investigating, and
Determining Penalties for Unethical Activities
The university shall investigate substantive
allegations of fraudulent or unethical research and creative activities with
all practical dispatch, with fairness, and with consideration for the rights of
the accused and the accuser. The
university is obligated to notify all parties affected by such acts, where
proven, at appropriate times.
1. Definitions
a. Allegation - means any written or oral
statement or other indication of possible academic or scientific misconduct
made to an institutional official.
b. Claimant - person or organization alleging
that academic misconduct has occurred.
An individual claimant is also commonly referred to
as a “whistleblower”, a term preferred by the federal government.
c. Conflict of Interest - faculty selected for
service on a panel or a committee must be free from conflict of interest due to associations with either a
claimant, if an individual, or a respondent.
Examples of such associations include, but are not limited to,
collaborations, co-authorships or manuscripts, and co-investigation on any
grants or contracts.
d. Deciding Officer - means the institutional
official who makes final determinations on allegations of academic misconduct
and any responsive institutional action.
This individual is the Chancellor.
e. Inquiry - assessment of supporting materials
and information from witnesses and respondent by a faculty panel to determine
whether an academic investigation is warranted. This may be known as an "allegation assessment" or an
"informal inquiry" in some government documents.
f. Investigation - formal examination and
evaluation of all relevant facts to determine if misconduct has occurred, and, if
so, to determine the responsible person(s) and the seriousness of the
misconduct. The investigation is
conducted by a committee of faculty to include at least one member from outside
the unit and when deemed necessary by the Vice Chancellor for Research (VCR),
from outside the university. Hearings
and testimony are to be recorded.
g. Research Integrity Officer - means the
institutional official responsible for assessing allegations of academic
misconduct and determining when such allegations warrant inquiries and for
overseeing inquiries and investigations.
This individual is the VCR.
h. Research record - means any data, document,
computer file, computer diskette, or any other written or non-written account
or object that reasonably may be expected to provide evidence or information
regarding the proposed, conducted, or reported research that constitutes the
subject of an allegation of academic misconduct. A research record included, but is not limited to, grant or
contract applications, whether funded or
unfunded; grant or contract progress and other reports; laboratory notebooks;
notes; correspondence; videos; photographs; X-ray film; slides; biological
materials; computer files and printouts; manuscripts and publications; equipment use logs; laboratory
procurement records; animal facility records; human and animal subject protocols; consent forms; medical
charts; and patient research files.
i. Respondent - means the person against whom
an allegation of scientific misconduct is directed or the person who actions
are the subject of the inquiry or investigation. There can be more than one respondent in any inquiry or
investigation.
j. Retaliation - means any action that
adversely affects the employment or other institutional status of an individual
that is taken by an institution or an employee because the individual has, in
good faith, made an allegation of scientific misconduct or of inadequate
institutional response thereto or has cooperated in good faith with an
investigation of such allegation.
2. Procedures
a. Principle of Procedure--Every effort will be
made to protect the privacy and reputations of those whose allegations of
misconduct are made in good faith and of those against whom allegations of
misconduct are not confirmed.
b. Policies and Regulations-Federal and State
policies pertaining to the institution's responsibilities for responding to
allegations of academic misconduct are on file in the office of Sponsored
Research and are available for review.
c Initiation by an Allegation-If a member of the faculty or other
employee of ECU is suspected of Academic Misconduct, as defined in Policy and
Procedures on Ethics in Research and Creative Activities, that person will be
reported to the unit's senior administrator unless there is a potential
conflict of interest. (Policy and procedures regarding students are described
in the ECU Faculty Manual, Part IV, Academic Integrity) Either documentation or the location of
documentation and information pertaining to the allegation will be
provided. If claimant brings the
allegation to the respondent's supervisor and if the supervisor is neither a
chair nor a dean, the supervisor will bring the information to the chair or
dean for that unit if considered to be substantive. Thus, if discussions between a supervisor and a claimant suggest
that the allegation(s) is(are) serious, and neither frivolous nor malicious,
the allegations and supporting information will be presented in a timely manner
to the chair or dean, not the respondent.
d. Determination of Procedure-The chair or dean
must determine whether the allegations may be dealt with informally or require
proceeding with the formal steps for making an Inquiry because the allegations
are neither frivolous nor malicious and are deemed substantive. The chair or dean will determine whether and
what form of misconduct is alleged to have occurred, what parties are involved
or may be affected by the allegations (i.e., co-authors, collaborators, funding
agencies, etc.) and what documentation is needed to pursue the allegation. The chair or dean shall notify the VCR of
their course of action (i.e., informal solution or recommendation for an
Inquiry) regarding all allegations. If
the evidence suggests that an Inquiry is warranted, the VCR will be notified
immediately. Only the Vice Chancellor
for Research has the authority to convene an Inquiry panel or an Investigation
Committee. If human or animal subjects
are involved, the chair or dean may ask the Administrative University and Medical
Center Institutional Review Board or the Animal Care and Use Committee,
respectively, to conduct an audit.
e. If the allegations meet any of the following
conditions, the office of Research Integrity of the Department of Health and
Human Services or any other appropriate federal agency, should be notified
immediately:
1. there is an immediate health hazard involved;
2. there is an immediate need to protect Federal
funds or equipment;
3. it is probably that the alleged incident is going
to be reported publicly;
4. the allegation involves a public health
sensitive issue such as a clinical trial;
5. there is reasonable indication of a possible
Federal criminal violation.
f. If the allegation is not judged to be
frivolous, interim administrative actions will be taken, as appropriate, to
protect any Federal funds and the public health, and to ensure that the purpose
of any Federal financial assistance is carried out. Such actions may include but not be limited to freezing grant or
contract accounts, suspending clinical trials or appointing an interim project
director.
g. Protecting the whistleblower - The VCR will
monitor the treatment of individuals who bring allegations of misconduct or of
inadequate institutional response thereto, and those who cooperate in inquiries
or investigations. The VCR will ensure
that these persons will not be retaliated against in the terms and conditions
of their employment or other status at the institution and will review
instances of alleged retaliation for appropriate action. Employees should immediately report any
alleged or apparent retaliation to the VCR.
Also the institution will protect the privacy of those who report
misconduct in good faith to the maximum extent possible. For example, if the whistleblower requests
anonymity, the institution will make an effort to honor the request during the
allegation assessment or inquiry within applicable policies and regulations and
state and local laws, if any. The
whistleblower will be advised that if the matter is referred to an
Investigation Committee and the whistleblower’s testimony is required,
anonymity may no longer be guaranteed.
h. Protecting the Respondent - Inquiries and
investigations will be conducted in a manner that will ensure fair treatment to
the respondent(s) in the inquiry or investigation and confidentiality to the
extent possible without compromising public health and safety or thoroughly
carrying out the inquiry or investigation.
Institutional employees accused of academic or scientific misconduct
may, at their own expense, consult with legal counsel or a non-lawyer
personal adviser (who is not a principal or witness in the case) to seek advice
and may bring the counsel or personal advisor to interviews or meetings on the
case.
i. The Inquiry-
(1) The VCR will present to the respondent, in
writing, the allegations and a copy to respondent's supervisor or chair. If it is necessary to secure notes, data
books, computer data, specimens, drafts of manuscripts, grants, contracts or
other materials, these will be collected at the time the letter of notice is
given to the respondent. Either the VCR
or his/her designee will be responsible for securing these items. All materials will be cataloged, receipts
provided to respondent, and secured in a locked storage container appropriate for the materials. The Inquiry will be completed within 60 calendar days from the
date of delivery of the letter of notice.
If the inquiry cannot be completed in 60 days and Federal funds are
involved, then the VCR will submit to the
appropriate agency a written request for an extension that explains the delay, reports on the progress to date, estimates
the date of completion of the report, and describes any other necessary steps to be taken.
(2) The Inquiry Panel shall consist of three
faculty without administrative appointment and conflict of interest. At least one person shall be from outside
the department of the respondent. If
respondent is a member of the School of Medicine, the Associate Dean for
Research will be consulted by the VCR prior to selecting faculty for an Inquiry
panel. All will have sufficient
expertise to review the materials and interview witnesses and respondent. The VCR will present the allegations to the
panel, review ECU policy and procedures, any special requirements for an
affected awarding agency, and establish a time line for conducting the inquiry.
The panel will decide for itself which materials to review, which
individuals to interview and their order.
The Inquiry panel will not receive unsolicited input from faculty or
staff except through the VCR. Questions
regarding the Inquiry will be referred to the VCR. Refusal to answer questions or otherwise cooperate with an
Inquiry or an Academic Investigation may be used as evidence against the
respondent. If the panel finds
substantiation of any one allegation, this will be reported immediately to the
VCR in writing. It is neither necessary
nor desired to proceed through a list of allegations once substantiation of one
allegation is established by the Inquiry panel. The function of the Inquiry Panel ends with its written
report.
(3) The written inquiry report will be prepared by
the panel which consists of the name and title of the panel members; the allegations; the PHS support; a
summary of the inquiry process used; a list of the records reviewed, summaries of any interviews; a
description of the evidence in sufficient detail to demonstrate whether an
investigation is warranted; and the committee’s determination as to whether an
investigation is recommended.
(4) The VCR will provide the respondent with a copy
of the draft inquiry report for comment and rebuttal and will provide the
whistleblower, if he or she is identifiable, with portions of the draft inquiry
report that address the claimant’s role and opinions in the investigation. Within 14 calendar days of their receipt of
the draft report, the claimant and respondent will provide their comments, if
any, to the inquiry committee. Any
comments that the claimant or respondent submits on the draft report will
become part of the final inquiry report and record. Based on the comments, the inquiry committee may review the
reports as appropriate. If respondent
is from the School of Medicine, a copy of the report will be give to the
Associate Dean for Research, also. If
review of the materials and interviews fail to confirm the allegations, a
description of the inquiry process and the finding will be reported in writing
to the VCR. The VCR will inform all
affected parties of the finding, including respondent, claimant, respondent’s
chair, dean and any other parties informed of the inquiry. The VCR will expunge any reference to the
allegations from respondent’s personnel file.
(5) If the Vice Chancellor for Research, in
consultation with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs or Vice Chancellor
for Health Sciences, decide that an investigation should be conducted, the VCR
will notify the appropriate federal or non-federal agency and will provide them
with a copy of the final inquiry report and the institution’s policies and
procedures for conducting investigations.
(6) If Federal funds are involved and the inquiry
is terminated prior to completion of all the steps required by the appropriate
agency, the VCR will notify that agency of the planned termination and the
reasons therefore.
(7) A detailed documentation of the inquiry,
regardless of its outcome, will be kept in the VCR’s office for at least five
years following completion of the report and will provide copies of this report
to any authorized sponsoring agency upon written request of that agency.
j. Additional Procedures if Externally Funded
Activities are Involved--The Vice Chancellor for Research will be responsible for
informing the funding agency that an Inquiry involving one of their grants or
contracts is being initiated. When the
findings of the Inquiry Panel are given to the VCR, the appropriate information
will be relayed to the funding agency.
Since different Federal and State agencies have different regulations
which change over time, it is imperative that the VCR assure that the Inquiry
and any subsequent investigation meet the funding agency's requirements.
k. The Investigation--A determination that substantive
evidence exists supporting allegations of academic misconduct necessitates a
formal Academic Investigation to begin within 30 calendar days of the Inquiry
Panel's written report. All appropriate
sponsors will be notified immediately that an investigation will be performed.
The investigation will be completed and a report submitted to the appropriate
sponsoring organization within 120 calendar days of the committee's
formation. If the investigation cannot
be completed in 120 days and Federal funds are involved, then the VCR will
submit to the appropriate agency a written request for an extension that
explains the delay, reports on the progress to date, estimates the date of
completion of the report, and describes any other necessary steps taken to date. That the respondent voluntarily leaves or
admits guilt does not automatically terminate the process.
(1) The Investigation Committee shall consist of
five faculty without administrative appointment and conflict of interest,
including not more than 2 members from respondent's department and at least 1
member from outside the unit (College or School) or the university, all of whom
shall have the necessary expertise to evaluate the evidence and issues related
to the allegations, interview the principals and key witnesses and conduct the
investigation . If the allegations
pertain to a project funded by an external source, one committee member must be
from outside the university. If
respondent is from the School of Medicine, the Associate Dean for Research will
be consulted prior to selection of the committee. The VCR is responsible for charging the panel, including: review of all allegations, this appendix and related university documents that
may have a bearing on the investigation, results of the Inquiry Panel and what
documentation is available and setting a schedule to complete the investigation
within 120 calendar days. If external
funds supported the project, then the VCR will communicate progress on the
investigation to the funding agency. Documents
and specimens will remain secured. All
participants have to bear in mind that when external funding, human subjects or
animal subjects are involved there is the potential for criminal charges being
filed and a "chain of evidence" will be maintained: anyone wishing to remove materials from
storage must obtain the permission of
the VCR and must sign for each item removed.
(2) The Investigation Committee, with advice
from the VCR, will decide on the order of presentation of materials and witnesses
and schedule one or more hearings. All
documentary evidence presented to the committee by the VCR will be made
available to respondent at least 10 working days before the hearing. Legal advice shall be provided by the
university for the committee. The
hearings shall be closed to the public.
The respondent shall have the right to be present during presentation of
the evidence to the committee. The
respondent shall also have the right to an advisor, to present the testimony of
witnesses and other evidence, to confront and cross examine witnesses. The respondent's advisor does not have any
right to cross examine witnesses. The Chair of the committee has the discretion
at any time to allow respondent's advisor to have an active role in the
hearing, either by directly questioning witnesses or by submitting questions in
writing through the Chair, or to restrict the advisor to advising the
respondent, only. An audio recording of
all hearings will be made and minutes prepared to be included with the committee's
report: both the chair of the committee and respondent will sign the minutes in
order to indicate that the minutes accurately represent the proceedings during
the hearing. The committee needs to
determine whether clear and convincing evidence exists that academic
misconduct, as defined by the Policy on Ethics in Research and Creative
Activities, has occurred. (Note: this is a more stringent standard than
"preponderance of the
evidence," but less stringent than "beyond any reasonable
doubt.") When the committee has
made its determination, a written report will be given to the VCR that
describes both the process and the findings of the investigation.
(3) Federal funds are involved and the investigation
is terminated prior to completion of all steps required by the appropriate
agency, the VCR will notify the agency of the planned termination and the
reasons therefore.
(4) Upon initiation of an investigation,
interim administrative action will be taken, as appropriate, to protect any
Federal funds and the public health, and to insure that the purpose of any
Federal financial assistance are carried out. Such action may include but not
be limited to freezing grant or contract accounts, suspending clinical trials
or appointing an interim project director.
l. Completion of the Investigation--When the
Investigation Committee has completed its investigation, it will prepare a
draft report; and this report, along with minutes of all hearings and tape
recordings of the hearings and recommendations will be given to the VCR. If respondent is from the School of
Medicine, a copy of the draft report will be given to the Associate Dean for
Research.
(1) The report must describe the policies and
procedures under which the investigation was conducted, describe how and from
whom information relevant to the investigation was obtained, state the
findings, and explain the basis for the findings. The report should include the
actual text or an accurate summary of the views of any individual(s)
interviewed.
(2) The VCR will provide the claimant, if he
or she is identifiable, with those portions of the draft investigation report
that address the claimant’s role and opinions in the investigation. The report should be modified, as
appropriate, based on the claimant’s comments.
(3) The draft report will also be given to
the respondent for comment and review. If the respondent elects to provide a
rebuttal, he or she must do so within 10 calendar days. The respondent may rebut orally or in
writing, and these responses will become part of the permanent record.
(4) The draft investigation report will be
transmitted to the institutional counsel for a review of its legal sufficiency.
Comments should be incorporated into the report as appropriate.
(5) In distributing the draft report, or
portions thereof, to the respondent and claimant, the VCR will inform the
recipient of the confidentiality under which the draft report is made available
and may establish reasonable conditions to ensure such confidentiality. For example, the VCR may request the
recipient to sign a confidentiality
statement or to come to his or her office to review the report.
(6) If the committee finds clear and
convincing evidence of academic misconduct in violation of the principles set
forth in this policy, the committee may include recommendations for sanctions.
(7) If the respondent provides a rebuttal to
the evidence for the VCR, the VCR may submit this information to the committee
and may request additional deliberations or recommendations from the
committee. After deliberation, or if no
timely response is received, the committee shall issue its final written report
to the VCR. If the VCR disagrees with
one or more aspects of the report, the VCR may submit a separate report, but
may not modify the committee's report without explicit permission by the
majority of committee members. In
addition to the findings of the committee, the VCR's report will include
recommendations with respect to notification of any journals or other
publications with already published or pending publications which are deemed
relevant, collaborating institutions or individuals, awarding agencies, and any
other individuals or agencies judged to "need to know" in order to avoid further consequences of
potentially misleading or fraudulent information. These reports and any rebuttal provided by respondent will be
given to the Chancellor. If respondent
is from the School of Medicine, copies of these reports and any rebuttal will
be given to the Associate Dean for Research.
(8) If the committee finds insufficient
evidence of fraudulent or unethical behavior in violation of the principles set
forth in this policy, the chair of the committee shall notify the VCR who shall
immediately notify all individuals and groups involved that the charges have
been dismissed; and every attempt will be made to clear the public and private
record of the respondent including letters to be sent to all awarding agencies,
journals or others who had been informed that a formal inquiry process had been
initiated.
(9) Investigative offices of Federal agencies
will be notified promptly:
(a) if at any time during the investigation there
is reasonable indication of possible criminal violations,
(b) if there are any developments which disclose
facts that may affect present or potential funding for the respondent, and
(c) of the final outcome of the investigation.
(10) The detailed documentation to substantiate
the findings of the investigation will be maintained for at least five years
after the final report is delivered to the VCR or Federal agencies. The report to Federal or other external
awarding agencies will include a description of the process used to arrive at
the findings within the report.
m. Prohibition of Expenditure of Funds-If there
are any developments during any time of the investigation which disclose facts
which suggest that specific funds from awarding agencies are not being expended
in an appropriate fashion, a recommendation by the committee to the VCR may be
forwarded to the appropriate vice chancellor that the university prohibit
further expenditures of these funds pending final outcome of the Academic
Investigation.
n. Action by the Appropriate Vice Chancellor-
(1) The appropriate vice chancellor, after
consultation with respondent's dean and VCR, shall determine what disposition
to make of the case. The determination
shall be transmitted to the respondent promptly. If the vice chancellor determines that the case has not been
proven, the vice chancellor may either ask the VCR to provide more information
or dispose of the case as in Section V.B.2.i.2. above with the VCR to notify
all affected parties that the charges have been dropped. If the vice chancellor chooses this latter
action, a written rationale for disposing of the case must be provided by the
vice chancellor for the VCR and members of the Investigation Committee.
(2) If the appropriate vice chancellor
concurs with the reports by the Investigation Committee and the VCR that
misconduct has occurred and determines that a sanction will be imposed, the
vice chancellor will consult with the VCR and respondent’s dean regarding recommendations
for censure, suspension from employment, reduction in rank, removal of tenure,
or dismissal and will proceed in accordance with the ECU Faculty Manual.
Whether or not sanctions are imposed on the respondent, the vice
chancellor may prescribe corrective action responsive to the alleged misconduct
and take other appropriate action including the recommended notifications of
journals, funding agencies and other affected parties by the VCR. The VCR shall notify respondent's dean of
sanctions or other actions imposed.
(3) Respondent may appeal imposition of
sanctions through the appropriate appellate committee as described in the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix D, Tenure and
Promotion Policies and Procedures of East Carolina University.
Approved: Faculty Senate Resolution #94-02
8
February 1994
East
Carolina University Chancellor
Amended: Faculty Senate Resolution #95-16
18
April 1995
East
Carolina University Chancellor
Amended: Faculty Senate Resolution #98-19
21
April 1998
East
Carolina University Chancellor