Research Integrity
The University’s Policy on Research Integrity emphasises the importance of upholding the principle of honesty in conducting research and in communicating research findings to the research community and the public. All researchers of the University must be committed to this principle. As stipulated in the said Policy, "All experiments or other forms of research project, where the University has an interest, involving consent of human participants and the use of vertebrate animal subjects must obtain prior approval of the appropriate Ethics Committee."
Specifically, Principal Investigators (PIs) who are academic/research staff or MPhil/PhD students in the Faculty of Education should apply to the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) for ethics clearance via the Faculty Research Ethics Committee (FREC). Applications for ethics clearance from EdD, TPG and UG students are dealt with at the Faculty level by the FREC. Please visit the Ethics Application section for details on the application procedures and the forms.
Ethics approval must be obtained before any data collection involving human participants. Staff and students are strongly advised to submit their application for ethics approval as early as possible, at least 6 weeks before data collection or the deadline set by the relevant funding bodies for obtaining ethics approval.
Case Studies on Research Integrity
Useful References
- HKU Policy on Research Integrity
- HKU Policy on the Management of Research Data and Records
- HKU website on plagiarism
- Information on research integrity, HKU Graduate School
- HKU Regulations Governing Students' Academic Conduct Concerning Assessment
- Summary of the Belmont Report
- Ethical Principles and Standards for Developmental Scientists, Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
Questions and Comments
If you have any questions or comments about research integrity, please email the Office of Research at [javascript protected email address].