Responsible Epidemiologic Research Practice: a guideline developed by a working group of the Netherlands Epidemiological Society

Abstract

With the Responsible Epidemiologic Research Practice guideline, we hope to contribute to better research practices in epidemiology but perhaps also in adjacent disciplines.

Guidelines and recommendations for ensuring Good Epidemiological Practice (GEP): a guideline developed by the German Society for Epidemiology

“…a conflict of the research community with regard to data protection regulations in guideline 4 (data protection), that hinder for epidemiologic research. Further aspects may be derived from the comments from the other scientific associations (GMDS, the DGSMP, and the IBS-DR) that could not be incorporated due to time constraints, and concurrently developed GEP documents from other countries [ 8 , 9 ]. Valuable input for a next revision was also given by the reviewers of this article.…”

“…Language changes (“may instead of “must) were suggested for recommendations 2.1 to 2.3, a less rigid concept of “apriori” in recommendations 3.2 and 8.1, and longer data storage in recommendation 3.8. Further development may include a stronger focus on relevance to the society that might be adopted from the recent GEP guideline from the Netherlands Epidemiological Society [ 8 ]. The still preliminary guidelines for GEP in global health research developed by the KIT Royal Tropical Institute staff [ 9 ] that were following the AGREE II methodology may provide valuable input for the process of guideline development in the field of epidemiologic methods.…”

Bridging research integrity and global health epidemiology (BRIDGE) statement: guidelines for good epidemiological practice

“…12 Efforts to foster research integrity in the EU have resulted in a push for open science in all scientific areas. 16 In epidemiology, more specifically a number of guidelines for good epidemiological practice have also been developed, such as in Switzerland, 17 Germany, 18 the Netherlands 19 and France. 20 Yet, as we argue in following paragraphs, global health epidemiologists also need to reckon with the idiosyncrasies of conducting global health research, 21 which derive from its multidisciplinary nature and emphasis on transnational issues and equity at population level.…”

“…40 In our experience, balancing research integrity with the realities of conducting fair global health epidemiological research can be challenging. Unfortunately, existing good epidemiological practice guidelines developed by national epidemiological associations [17][18][19][20] are not tailored to the idiosyncrasies of global health and lack international legitimacy. Also, existing guidelines for research fairness are not specific to epidemiology.…”

“…Research integrity emphasises the establishment of study groups and constructing meaningful research questions based on a systematic review of the literature. [17][18][19][20] In addition in global health: ► Research fairness implies a need for engagement with key local stakeholders to ensure that research is driven national public health and research priorities 67 (not only those of the higher income country parties). ► Research fairness also implies a need to ensure that collaborative research furthers local research systems and competitiveness 55 (not only those of the higher income country parties).…”