Research integrity

The Human Sciences Research Council is committed to research that is relevant and trustworthy. The pursuit of research excellence and the fulfilment of our responsibilities to participants in research, research users, funders, and the wider community require high standards of integrity. To this effect, the HSRC Board approved a formal policy on research integrity in 2011.

This policy is intended to help promote and support good research practice, but also touches on aspects of research misconduct that should not be allowed. The policy furthermore provides for the appointment of a Research Integrity Officer (RIO) by the CEO.

Two persons, Dr Christa van Zyl and Dr Njeri Wabiri, were appointed to serve as HSRC Research Integrity Officers (RIOs) during 2017. They will work closely with the Deputy CEO: Research, the Chairperson of the HSRC Research Ethics Committee (REC) as well as several other units in the HSRC who will be able to add value to the on-going effort to acknowledge, support and promote research integrity across the organisation.

The following responsibilities are entrusted to the RIOs for the 2017 calendar year:

  • Promoting the responsible conduct of research through awareness raising and capacity building activities, in collaboration with relevant resource persons as well as research and support units in the HSRC
  • Ensuring that there are procedures and systems in place to receive, appropriately assess and correctly refer allegations of research misconduct
  • [Download the statement here] Taking responsibility for record-keeping and reporting of possible cases of research misconduct as may be required by the HSRC as well as local and international funders, including the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America
  • Ensuring that confidential information made available to the RIO is treated with discretion and in accordance with principles outlined in the policy on research integrity

Contact

Research integrity officers

Khutso Sithole, tel +27 (0)12 302 2012

Dr Njeri Wabiri, tel +27 (0)12 302 2035

Email: research.integrity@hsrc.ac.za

Hotline

HSRC Fraud and Ethics hotline.