Research Integrity Policy
- Approver:
- Academic Coordinating Committee
- Policy Owner:
- Vice President, Research
- Policy Lead(s):
- Research Data & Policy Analyst
- Effective date:
- 2006-03-01
- Date of last approval:
- 2025-09-10
- Status:
- Approved
Policy Statement
The purpose of this policy is to outline the principles that define research integrity in alignment with the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR 2021). All research conducted at ÌÇÐÄvlog¾«Æ· Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (Conestoga), in collaboration with Conestoga, or using Conestoga resources must adhere to these principles.
Scope
This policy applies to all research conducted at or in collaboration with Conestoga, or any research that uses College resources.
Definitions
ÌÇÐÄvlog¾«Æ· maintains a glossary of terms specific to the institution. The ones in use for this document are defined below.
- Conestoga Employee
- Any employee of Conestoga, whether employed full-time, part-time, or on a contract basis, and includes, but is not limited to, faculty, student researchers when compensated as employees, research staff, support staff and administrators.
- Conestoga Resources
- Any funds administered by Conestoga, funds for employee compensation, materials, or facilities.
- Conflicts of Interest
- Activities or situations that create a real, potential, or perceived conflict between an individual’s research duties or responsibilities and personal, institutional, or other interests. These interests include, but are not limited to, business, commercial or financial interests pertaining to the individual, their family members, friends, or their former, current, or prospective professional associates.
- Partner
- Any third-party organization (including, but not limited to, a corporation, another academic institution, a research institution, a hospital or a government agency) that seeks to or does engage in a Research Project or grant activity with Conestoga.
- Research
- An undertaking intended to extend knowledge through a disciplined inquiry or systematic investigation.
- Research Misconduct
- Unethical behaviour in the process of conducting research. Research misconduct may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following breaches of Responsible Conduct of Research as set out directly in the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021):
- Fabrication: Making up data, source material, methodologies or findings, including graphs and images.
- Falsification: Manipulating, changing, or omitting data, source material, methodologies or findings, including graphs and images, without acknowledgement, such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
- Destruction of research records: The destruction of one's or another's research data or records contravening the applicable funding agreement, institutional policy or laws, regulations and professional or disciplinary standards. This also includes the destruction of data or records to avoid the detection of wrongdoing.
- Plagiarism: Presenting and using another's published or unpublished work, including theories, concepts, data, source material, methodologies or findings, including graphs and images, as one's own, without appropriate referencing and, if required, without permission.
- Redundant publications: The re-publication of one's own previously published work or part thereof, or data, in the same or another language, without adequate acknowledgement of the source or justification.
- Invalid authorship: Inaccurate attribution of authorship, including attribution of authorship to persons other than those who have contributed sufficiently to take responsibility for the intellectual content or agreeing to be listed as author to a publication for which one made little or no material contribution.
- Inadequate acknowledgement: Failure to appropriately recognize the contributions of others in a manner consistent with their respective contributions and authorship policies of relevant publications.
- Mismanagement of Conflict of Interest: Failure to appropriately manage any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest, in accordance with the institution's policy on conflict of interest in research, preventing one or more of the objectives of the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021) from being met.
- Misrepresentation is defined as, but not limited to:
- Providing incomplete, inaccurate or false information in a grant or award application or related document, such as a letter of support or a progress report.
- Applying for or holding funding awards when deemed ineligible by any research or research funding organization worldwide for breaches of research policies concerning ethics, integrity or financial management.
- Listing of co-applicants, collaborators or partners without their agreement.
- Mismanagement of research funds is defined as, but not limited to:
- Using Agency grant or award funds for purposes inconsistent with the policies of the Agencies; misappropriating grants and award funds; contravening Agency financial policies, namely the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration (TAGFA), Agency grants and awards guides; or providing incomplete, inaccurate or false information on documentation for expenditures from grant or award accounts.
- Failure to meet Agency policy requirements or to comply with relevant policies, laws or regulations for the conduct of certain types of research activities.
- Failure to obtain appropriate approvals, permits or certifications before conducting these activities.
- Failure to disclose a financial or personal interest in any transaction chargeable to a research grant or contract.
- Failure to follow Conestoga financial directives and practices.
- Failure to inform Conestoga of a substantial change in research activities or use of research funds.
- Use of research resources, facilities or equipment in a manner that is inconsistent with approved research practices.
- Material failure to comply with relevant federal and provincial statutes or regulations or other agency and Conestoga policies for the protection of researchers, human participants, or the health and safety of the public, or for the welfare of laboratory animals.
- Material failure to meet other relevant legal requirements related to the conduct of research, or, for grant holders, material failure to comply with regulations of the relevant agency or agencies concerning the conduct of research.
- The release of confidential information into the public domain without written permission from the associated partner or holder of the confidential information.
- Lack of rigour: Lack of scholarly and scientific rigour in proposing and performing research; in recording, analyzing, and interpreting data; and in reporting and publishing data and findings.
- Student
- A person currently enrolled in studies at ÌÇÐÄvlog¾«Æ·, whether in a full-time, part-time or continuing education capacity.
Policy
- Responsible Conduct of Research
- All Conestoga staff and students must report any circumstances to the Vice President, Research (VPR) they believe involve a breach of this policy. The necessary actions for submitting allegations are found within the Research Integrity Procedure.
- Factors intrinsic to research and scholarly activities, such as honest error, conflicting data, or differences in interpretation or assessment of data or experimental design, do not constitute research misconduct or lack of integrity.
- Appropriate research behaviour includes ensuring the honesty of researchers, respect for others, scholarly competence, and stewardship of resources.
- Authorship of published works will include all those who have materially contributed (other than financially) and share responsibility for the contents of the publication.
- Unresolved and undisclosed conflicts of interest are considered serious acts of research misconduct and will be investigated according to the Research Integrity Procedure.
- Researcher Responsibilities
- Researchers will familiarize themselves with the principles of the responsible conduct of research, and researchers operating in a supervisory capacity will provide sufficient training and oversight to their staff to ensure familiarity with the principles.
- The Principal Investigator is responsible for a research project and supervising all aspects of the project. The Principal Investigator is responsible for ensuring that others listed on an application for external funding have agreed to be included.
- Conestoga Responsibilities
- Through the Office of Research Services (ORS), Conestoga will promote the understanding of research ethics and integrity and the awareness of research policies.
- Conestoga will ensure that all employees and students conducting research comply with all policies relevant to research integrity.
- Allegations of Research Misconduct
- The VPR will respond to allegations of research misconduct promptly and impartially according to the procedures described in the Research Integrity Procedure.
- Conestoga will protect all individuals making an allegation in good faith or providing information relating to an allegation from reprisals to the fullest extent possible.
- All Conestoga employees and students will comply with any requests from the VPR to appear before a committee of inquiry or investigation and answer their questions or supply materials.
- When investigations of allegations involve bargaining unit members as complainants, respondents, witnesses, or consultants, the investigation must be conducted according to the Investigation Protocol established between the bargaining units and Conestoga.
- Should Conestoga receive an allegation of misconduct levied at a different institution, Conestoga will contact the institution in question and determine, with that institution's point-of-contact, which institution is best situated to perform an inquiry and investigation, if necessary. Conestoga will then inform the complainant which institution is the point of contact for the allegation.
Relevant Legislation and Related Documents
Relevant legislation
Revision Log
‸¾²¹³Ù±ð | ‸¾±ð³Ù²¹¾±±ô²õ |
| ​2006-03-01 | ​Initial release of policy and procedure |
| ​2007-08-01 | ​Update to policy and procedure |
| ​2013-03-01 | ​First release of a completely updated policy |
| ​2013-12-01 | ​Updated references to misconduct |
| ​2013-12-03 | ​Policy and Procedure Committee - Approved |
| ​2014-01-08 | ​Academic Coordinating Committee - Approved |
| ​2025-09-10 | ​Academic Coordinating Committee - Approved |