
Research Integrity Officer: Dr. Aujke LaMonica
Deciding Officer: Dr. Julia Irwin
Executive Director Research & Innovation: Dr. Christine Broadbridge
To confidentially report any concerns related to the research protection functions for the University: ori@southernct.edu
SCSU ORI Policies and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct
The Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) Office of Research Integrity (ORI) promotes and monitors the responsible conduct of research for all SCSU human and non-human research, and acts on substantive allegations of research misconduct. The ORI subscribes to The United States Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research Misconduct published in The Federal Register, codified at Title 42 Part 93. Other government agencies publish their own research misconduct regulations. To the extent those regulations apply to an allegation of research misconduct and are inconsistent with these Policies and Procedures, SCSU ORI will comply with the applicable regulatory requirements. As permitted by 42 CFR § 93.319, this document also applies to research that is not government-funded, although such cases need not be reported to government agencies. Further, the SCSU ORI observes guidelines and processes presented in the HHS and PHS ORI Handbook for Institutional Research Integrity Officers (RIOs), and the ORI Introduction to The Responsible Conduct of Research respectively. The SCSU ORI participates in the HHS ORI Assurance Program and has established administrative policies for responding to allegations of research misconduct that comply with PHS regulation 42 CFR Part 93 and accepted institutional procedures.
The federal codes, 42 CFR 93 at º 93.103, define research misconduct as . . . "fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results:
As represented in the codes at º 93.319 (a), "Institutions may have internal standards of conduct different from the HHS standards for research misconduct. . . . an institution may find conduct to be [potentially] actionable under its standards even if the action does not meet. . . [the HHS] . . .definition of research misconduct.
Considering federal policies and institutional elements regarding the responsible conduct of research, it is expected that investigators conducting research under the auspices of SCSU will refrain from engaging in federally defined research misconduct activity and at a minimum observe (but not be limited to) the following common ethical values when involved in research:
Adherence to these basic tenets provides a groundwork for research integrity and is expected to promote responsible conduct in research at SCSU. Violation of these ethical values and/or federal research misconduct codes will be considered actionable according to SCSU policies and procedures.
Allegations of research misconduct and the basis for them should be communicated confidentially and preferably (but not necessarily) in writing to the Research Integrity Officer. The complainant may not remain anonymous but will be protected under The HHS ORI Whistleblower's Bill of Rights found at: https://ori.hhs.gov/guidelines-whistleblowers
The following presents the SCSU strategy for handling misconduct allegations: