In this module you will be introduced to the concepts and background of Research Integrity and Research Ethics. You will also be introduced to the broad range of topics covered by Research Integrity, and some of the international and institutional standards and policies which guide and govern practices. We hope you will leave this module with an understanding of why fostering research integrity is beneficial to you personally and to the research enterprise in general.

This module will take a minimum of 2 hours to fully complete.

This module outlines practices and policies that govern research misconduct at the institution and internationally. You will be introduced to questionable research practices and be given some tips for avoiding them. We hope you will leave this module understanding why research misconduct and questionable research practices are problematic, how they can impact you personally and professionally, and what this means for research in general.

This module will take a minimum of 2 hours to fully complete.

In this module, you will be introduced to responsible authorship practices, including some strategies for avoiding authorship disputes. The module will also cover problematic publication practices and tips for avoiding predatory publications. We hope you will leave this module with ideas to tackle authorship conversations, before they turn into problems and strategies for avoiding predatory publications.

This module will take a minimum of 2 hours to fully complete.

Part 1:

Will briefly introduce the concept of research ethics and take you through principles and benchmarks. You will be introduced to ethical violations of the past, role players, informative case studies and, tips to avoid ‘ethics dumping’. We hope you will leave this module with an understanding of the key benchmarks which should be considered when conducting research studies. There is no final assessment associated with Part 1. Once you have completed part 1 you will need to progress to part 2 to complete the module. Part 2 contains a knowledge check which will trigger the final assessment.

Part 2:

This module will introduce you to levels of vulnerability associated with research participants; risk assessments; and international, local and institutional resources. You will leave this module with an understanding of the research ethics landscape and, have an idea of the many topics you need to consider and address in order to be an ethical and responsible researcher.

This module consists of online content and a self-contained knowledge check, followed by a final assessment on the Learning Management System. Once you have completed the assessment (and achieved more than 80%), you will be directed to a course evaluation. Your certificate of attendance will not be issued before the course evaluation has been completed. We will also conduct a 6-month follow-up survey, which will be optional.

This module will take a minimum of 3 hours to fully complete.

This course comes in 2 parts which must be completed sequentially before the final assessment is unlocked. You may take a break (i.e. log out and return at a later stage) between part 1 and part 2. The intersection of ethics and data sharing is a thread which runs through both parts. The module takes a narrative approach, following the journey of two imaginary researchers who are trying to decide whether it is appropriate to share their data openly while having to balance the values of research integrity and open scholarship.

Part 1:

Considers the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA); UCT's Research Data Management Policy, Data Management Plans (DMPs) and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs). ** Note: Institutional understanding of and response to POPIA continues to grow and evolve, this module will be updated intermittently to capture this evolved understanding. An FAQ is in development and will be made available soon.

Part 2:

Considers ethical drivers and challenges to open data; data protection, curation, sharing and transfer and concludes the journey of the researchers as the decide: open data, or not?

You will need to obtain 80%+ for the Knowledge Check embedded in Part 2 for the Final Assessment to unlock. In order to complete the module successfully, you will need to obtain 80%+ for the Final Assessment and complete the course evaluation. 

This module will take a minimum of 3 hours to fully complete.

In this module, you will be introduced to responsible writing and authoring practices including strategies for avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism and other problematic publication practices. We hope you will leave this module with strategies, tools and resources to approach referencing and citation and to avoid plagiarism in all its forms. This module consists of online content and a self-contained knowledge check, followed by a final assessment on the Learning Management System. Once you have completed the assessment (and achieved more than 80%), you will be directed to a course evaluation. Your certificate of attendance will not be issued before the course evaluation has been completed.

This module will take a minimum of 2 hours to fully complete.