Policies and guidance

There are a number of University policies that apply to all staff, students and honorary staff. Key policies in the area of research governance and integrity are:

University policies can be found on the University Governance and Human Resources webpages.

We have developed guidance in the following areas:

Ethics of Research Policy and Procedure

The University's Ethics of Research Policy and Procedure (PDF, 195kB) governs the ethics of research across the University.

Whistleblowing Policy

Details on how to formally report suspected malpractice or misconduct at the University can be found in the Whistleblowing Policy (PDF, 95kB).

Regulations on Research Misconduct

Regulations on Research Misconduct (PDF, 262kB) define research misconduct and outline the procedures if misconduct is suspected.

Research Governance and Integrity Policy

The University has introduced a Research Governance and Integrity Policy (PDF, 240kB) to formalise existing guidance and good practice across all of the University's research activities. The Policy is based on good research practice principles and the UK Research Integrity Office's Code of Practice for Research.

It is applicable to all staff, students and honorary members of the University. It is designed to be helpful and constructive in supporting you in your research and making clear the responsibilities of the University and those of its staff and students. The Policy also demonstrates to our external stakeholders that research integrity is embedded into the University culture.

We welcome any feedback or questions you may have on it. Please email these to research-governance@bristol.ac.uk.

Archiving

We have developed guidance on research record retention and archiving for studies involving human participants. Please read Guidance on the Retention of Research Records and Data‌ for further information.

Preventing harm in research

All research activity, has associated risks – including the risk of harm to participants, communities or researchers. For more information on these risks and how the University, research teams and individual researchers need to manage them, please read our guidance on preventing harm in research.

Global Research

  • The Global Code of Conduct for Research In Resource Poor Settings has 23 articles of conduct around the 4 pillars of fairness, respect, care and honesty.
  • There is guidance available from the UKRI about Research in a Global Setting, with information for research being undertaken outside the UK, and particularly in resource-poor settings. This includes information about equitable partnerships, due diligence, ethics – including in fragile and conflict affected contexts, and case studies of good practice for researchers.