====== Office of Research Integrity ======

| [[#message_from_the_director|Message from the Director]] |
| [[#history|History]] |
| [[#mission_and_vision|Mission and Vision]] |
| [[#core_values|Core Values]] |
| [[#list_of_services_or_programs|List of Services or Programs]] |

=== Message from the Director ===

The UP Manila Office of Research Integrity is now entering its 7th year. We remain focused on our mission  to foster a culture of research integrity that empowers UP Manila constituents to excel in their scholarly pursuits. It is important that this culture is embraced by everyone and in the process, creating research that will have the public trust. The UP System Code for Responsible Conduct of Research which emanates from the Office, highlights 7 core values—honesty, responsibility, rigor, transparency, respect, fairness and professional courtesy, and diversity. Our educational caravans have been  institutionalized to become Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), making them accessible to all UP Manila researchers so they get to know how they should conduct research responsibly, observing and practicing the 7 core values as a way of life. The first ORI study conducted established a baseline of the UP Manila community’s perception of research integrity.  The UP Manila Authorship Guidelines for Scientific Work will be a document the community can always refer to for their use. We have gone a step higher with our recently concluded First National Conference on Research Integrity with the theme “Improving Philippine Research Systems through Research Integrity,” as we try to propagate this culture of research integrity not only within the confines of UP Manila but to other higher education and health institutions as well.\\
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**Dr. Jean Anne B. Toral, MSc**\\
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**Date of Approval**\\
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October 18, 2019 (as Committee) \\
March 25, 2021(as Office) \\
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=== History ===

Administrative Order No. CCDP 2019-179 (later 2019-179-A) from the University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) Chancellor’s Office created the Committee on Research Integrity (CRI) on October 17, 2019. The CRI was envisioned as an interim body which would lay the foundations for an Office, the responsibilities of which would be to oversee continuing education relating to the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR); and to address concerns that may arise about the RCR.\\
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In recent years, the need for such an Office has become part of the administrative agenda.\\
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a. A number of concerns, queries, and complaints were received by the University of the Philippines Manila Research Ethics Board (UPMREB) with some directly forwarded to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at that time, relating not so much to unethical practices as they were to the inappropriate conduct of research. \\
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b. The Office of the Chancellor had also noted a trend from international funding agencies and research investigators requiring Offices of Research Integrity in collaborating institutions. \\
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c. The rapidly growing research infrastructure of UP Manila, with the increase in researchers, research activity, and research funding, alongside mounting pressures from faculty and student promotion and recognition, could provide fertile ground for challenges to research integrity. \\
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The time was ripe to create an office and more importantly, to promote a “culture” for the Responsible Conduct of Research.  Just what is Research Integrity and what is the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)? Professor Daniel Barr, Principal Research Integrity Adviser of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, emphasized that for research to have impact and usefulness, both the scientific and lay communities need to know that research is conducted in a trustworthy manner, otherwise known as the Responsible Conduct of Research. Breaches of RCR, especially the major ones including fabrication and falsification of data and plagiarism, erode the trust in research in particular, and in science in general. On the other hand, strict adherence to such standards provides us with excellent, reliable, and trustworthy research. \\
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To lay the foundations for this “culture,”  the Committee undertook the development of a UP Manila Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, officially launched in November 2020. The Code was reviewed and further endorsed by the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs to the BOR for adoption by the entire UP system. This endorsement was approved on August 26, 2021 by the BOR at its 1363rd meeting. \\
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In her endorsement of the UP Manila Code, Vice President for Academic Affairs Bautista points out that while society has benefited in great measure from the research output of the scientific and academic community in the post WWII era, and while the role of scientists and experts in defining reality has been the accepted standard in society, the last few decades have seen a coming of age of post-truth politics, alternative realities, and the fabrication of facts, leading to the “death in the belief” in facts and the relegation of truth or facts to secondary importance. Unfortunately, this has led worldwide to a gradual erosion of public trust in science and universities. To counter this alternate reality and the dismissal of science and fact, the scientific and academic communities must continue to provide proof of the impact of scientific research through relevant innovations and technologies. This, however, can only be achieved if there is integrity in the conduct of the underlying scientific research. A Code for the RCR helps make academics more mindful of the value of research integrity.\\

=== Mission and Vision ===

**Mission**\\
To foster a culture of research integrity that empowers the UPM students researchers, faculty members, Research, Extension, and Professional Staff (REPS), and administrative staff to excel in their scholarly pursuits\\
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**Vision**\\
To create and nurture an environment where ethical research is not only expected but embraced, leading to breakthrough discoveries and improved public trust. \\
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=== Core Values ===

A culture for the RCR can only be sustained with the full cooperation and involvement of all  stakeholders, both within and outside of the University. This includes faculty, students,  administration leaders and support staff, fund granting agencies from the University, private  agencies and government bodies, scientific journals and publications, and many others.  In order to generate  and sustain such an awareness regarding Research Integrity, an Office is necessary (a) to  coordinate a continuing education campaign throughout the Constituent University and (b) to  monitor and address issues and complaints about breaches of RCR.  The ORI has the following specific functions:\\
  - Education – continuing education about the RCR for constituents of the University  
  - Monitoring - monitoring violations and addressing complaints  about breaches of the RCR within  the  University. As stated in the Code, the implementing rules and regulations to address  such complaints and provide appropriate sanctions are the purview of appropriate units within the CU.  
  - Coordination - coordination with similar offices from other institutions and / or other countries 
The seven principles of research integrity include: honesty, responsibility, rigor, transparency, respect, fairness, professional courtesy, and diversity. \\
=== List of Services or Programs ===
| 1. UP Code for Responsible Conduct of Research |
| 2. Authorship Guidelines for Scientific Work |
| 3. Attestation Form |
| 4. UVLE Online Module Course on Research Integrity |
| 5. Submission of Cases related to Research Integrity |