Research integrity – Your responsibilities

Research integrity – Your responsibilities

Be the best researcher you can be: understand your responsibilities, develop relevant skills, engage with your academic community and grow your networks.

As an RMIT graduate researcher, you should understand your rights and responsibilities regarding research integrity, ethics, intellectual property, copyright and authorship. 

Your research should be guided by principles of integrity, including honesty and accuracy, respect and fairness, rigor and objectivity, accountability and good stewardship. 

You will need to apply for ethics approval if your research involves humans, animals or gene modification. 

You will also need to be aware of copyright and privacy issues that may apply to your research from the earliest stages of your candidature. In addition, you should familiarise yourself with RMIT's intellectual property policy, so you understand and acknowledge who owns the papers, products, reports or other work produced during your research project. 

Research integrity 

Your research should be guided by principles of integrity: including honesty and accuracy, respect and fairness, rigor and objectivity, accountability and good stewardship. Research integrity can be defined as the coherent and consistent adherence to a set of principles that underpin the trustworthiness and excellence of research. 

Online research integrity training is compulsory for all Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates. 

The Researcher Portal contains further information about research conduct and understanding the impact of your research. 

If you have any questions or concerns about the conduct of research at the University (or elsewhere) speak to a Research Integrity Advisor.

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College of Business and Law
Area Research Integrity Advisors

School of Business IT and Logistics

 Professor Alemayehu Molla
School of Economics, Finance and Marketing Professor Jonathan Batten
School of Economics, Finance and Marketing Dr Ankita Mishra
School of Economics, Finance and Marketing Dr Thao Tran
School of Management

Dr Michael Muchiri
Graduate School of Business and Law Associate Professor Marta Poblet Balcell

College of STEM
Area Research Integrity Advisors

School of Engineering

 Associate Professor Stefania Castelletto
School of Engineering Professor Naba Dutta
School of Engineering Professor Dinesh Kumar
School of Engineering Distinguished Professor Arnan Mitchell
School of Engineering Associate Professor Majidreza Nazem   
School of Engineering Professor Roberto Sabatini
School of Engineering Professor Olga Troynikov
School of Engineering Distinguished Professor Irene Yarovsky   
School of Science Professor Ewan Blanch
School of Science Professor Andrew Greentree
School of Science Associate Professor Melih Ozlen
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences  Professor Emilio Badoer   
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences  Dr Russell Conduit
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences  Dr Azharuddin Fazalbhoy
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences  Dr Julie Stevens
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences   Dr Angela Yang
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences  Associate Professor Tony Zhang

College of Design and Social Context
Area Research Integrity Advisors

School of Architecture and Urban Design 

 Associate Professor Quentin Stevens   

School of Art

 Dr Marnie Badham
School of Design Associate Professor Jonathan Duckworth
School of Fashion and Textiles   Dr Sean Ryan   
School of Global, Urban and Social Studies

Dr Chris Maylea   
School of Media and Communications    Associate Professor Catherine Gomes   

RMIT Vietnam
Area Research Integrity Advisors

School of Business and Management

 Dr Pham Nguyen Anh Huy
School of Communication and Design Dr Andrew Stiff
School of Science and Technology Dr Alexandru Fechete
Research Office Dr Bradley McConachie
Research Office Dr Mahi Narayanan

Ethics approval

Ethics approval is an important step in the first 6 months of your candidature. You need ethics approval if your research involves humans, animals or gene modification.

Researchers must consider the ethical risk of their human research in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct of Human Research (2007) (National Statement 2007, Updated 2018) and RMIT Research Policy. The process at RMIT is outlined by the RMIT Human Research Ethics Procedure.

Talk to your supervisory team as soon as possible after starting your HDR to determine if you need to build ethics approval into your research timeline.

If you do, you must apply and obtain approval by an ethics committee before you can collect data or complete your Confirmation of Candidature.

There’s a helpful guide available in the Researcher Portal and in the Research Ethics Platform (you’ll need to request access).  That document will help you submit an application that should meet the requirements of the RMIT Human Research Ethics Procedures. This is especially important for candidates with time critical deadlines.

There are two steps in the ethics process:

  • Governance review: Governance reviews are usually started within three business days of your ethics approval application.
  • Ethical review: Ethical review is not started until a governance review has been completed.

Factors that may have an impact on the turnaround times for your ethics approval include: 

  • the completeness and quality of the project application 
  • review category, e.g., negligible versus greater than low risk review 
  • number of project applications currently under active review
  • your response time to provide requested information 
  • potential wait for external documents or letters of permission for related items
  • RMIT shutdown periods (i.e. public holidays, government restrictions).

If appropriate, you must take any relevant online module/s covering human ethics, animal ethics, and institutional biosafety.

Data management

You need to be aware of copyright and privacy issues that apply to your research from the earliest stages of your candidature.

Familiarise yourself with RMIT's intellectual property policy. It will help you understand and acknowledge who owns the papers, products, reports or other work produced during your research project. 

Intellectual Property (IP) you create is by default owned by you. However, RMIT may request candidates enter into an intellectual property and/or confidentiality agreement before starting their research project.

You also need to understand the guidelines that apply to authorship of papers and reports you might produce. 

Research courses 

To build your research skills you are required to take a compulsory research methods/strategies course and may take optional research techniques courses. 

You must also complete: 

Need help? 

Submit an enquiry to the School of Graduate Research

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Acknowledgement of country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

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