Promoting Research Integrity in Africa: An African Voice of Concern on Research Misconduct and the Way Forward

Abstract

African researchers and their collaborators have been making significant contributions to useful research findings and discoveries in Africa. Despite evidence of scientific misconduct even in heavily regulated research environments, there is little documented information that supports prevalence of research misconduct in Africa. Available literature on research misconduct has focused on the developed world, where credible research integrity systems are already in place. Public attention to research misconduct has lately increased, calling for attention to weaknesses in current research policies and regulatory frameworks. Africa needs policies, structural and governance systems that promote responsible conduct of research. To begin to offset this relative lack of documented evidence of research misconduct, contributors working in various research institutions from nine African countries agreed to share their experiences to highlight problems and explore the need to identify strategies to promote research integrity in the African continent. The experiences shared include anecdotal but reliable accounts of previously undocumented research misconduct, including some ‘normal misbehavior’ of frontline staff in those countries. Two broad approaches to foster greater research integrity are proposed including promotion of institutional and individual capacity building to instil a culture of responsible research conduct in existing and upcoming research scientist and developing deterrent and corrective policies to minimize research misconduct and other questionable research practices. By sharing these experiences and through the strategies proposed, the authors hope to limit the level of research misconduct and promote research integrity in Africa.

Importance of authorship and inappropriate authorship assignment in paediatric research in low‐ and middle‐income countries

“…Though there is little debate that capacity building and reciprocal academic partnerships in LMICs are important, effective means to accomplish these results may depend on the subtleties of each collaboration. As previous articles advocating for capacity building in LMICs have been single program experiences or opinion pieces , our study provides a wider and more globally representative array of views on effective research collaborations. Authorship may be one mechanism to build capacity and strengthen partnerships in LMICs as it opens doors for further grant acquisition, institutional financial support, building of reputations and opportunities for further research.…”

A proposal for ethical research conduct in Madagascar

“…Research institutions in the developed world, private and public, have credible integrity systems that can be followed. Some initiatives have been taken across Africa to promote responsible conduct in research and identify strategies to promote research integrity (Kombe et al 2014). They propose two broad approaches: "(1) promotion of institutional and individual capacity building to instill a culture of responsible research conduct in existing and upcoming research scientists, and (2) developing deterrent and corrective policies to minimize research misconduct and other questionable research practices" (Kombe et al 2014: 8-9).…”

“…They propose two broad approaches: "(1) promotion of institutional and individual capacity building to instill a culture of responsible research conduct in existing and upcoming research scientists, and (2) developing deterrent and corrective policies to minimize research misconduct and other questionable research practices" (Kombe et al 2014: 8-9). In the following, we present a list of recommendations that take into account the Swiss system and Kombe et al (2014).…”

Supporting the role of community members employed as research staff: Perspectives of community researchers working in addiction research

“…CRs who work with individuals and communities affected by addiction and serious illness often encounter what has been termed the ‘moral hazard’ of being unable to offer adequate services in the face of great need (Broadhead et al, 1995). Without the means to resolve these moral and ethical conflicts, some CRs experience emotional burnout, while others may deviate from the research protocol in ways that pose a threat to research integrity (True et al, 2011; Richman et al, 2012; Fisher et al, 2013; Molyneux et al, 2013; Kombe et al, 2014). …”