TY - JOUR
T1 - VIRT2UE
T2 - A European train-the-trainer programme for teaching research integrity
AU - Evans, Natalie
AU - Schmolmueller, Armin
AU - Stolper, Margreet
AU - Inguaggiato, Giulia
AU - Hooghiemstra, Astrid
AU - Tokalic, Ruzica
AU - Pizzolato, Daniel
AU - Foeger, Nicole
AU - Marušić, Ana
AU - van Hoof, Marc
AU - Lanzerath, Dirk
AU - Molewijk, Bert
AU - Dierickx, Kris
AU - Widdershoven on, Guy
N1 - Funding Information:
All articles in Research Ethics are published as open access. There are no submission charges and no Article Processing Charges as these are fully funded by institutions through Knowledge Unlatched, resulting in no direct charge to authors. For more information about Knowledge Unlatched please see here: http://www.knowledgeunlatched.org . The VIRTUE project ( V irtue based ethics and I ntegrity of R esearch: T rain-the- T rainer programme for U pholding the principles and practices of the E uropean Code of Conduct for Research Integrity) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N 787580. 2
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Universities and other research institutions are increasingly providing additional training in research integrity to improve the quality and reliability of research. Various training courses have been developed, with diverse learning goals and content. Despite the importance of training that focuses on moral character and professional virtues, there remains a lack of training that adopts a virtue ethics approach. To address this, we, a European Commission-funded consortium, have designed a train-the-trainer programme for research integrity. The programme is based on (1) virtue ethics, (2) the ethos of science, (3) learning by doing and (4) learner-centred teaching. The blended learning programme combines e-learning modules with participatory group sessions. Trainers are taught how to guide researchers through a series of structured exercises for fostering reflection on scientific virtues, and how to promote understanding and application of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. Trainers are provided with adaptable tools and resources that can be used and combined in different ways. The programme implementation began in Spring 2020 and 470 trainers have participated to date. When trainers were asked to grade – between 0 (very bad) and 10 (excellent) – the e-learning modules and the participatory exercises, 60% scored a grade 8 or higher (median = 8, IQR = 2) for the e-learning modules, whereas 80% scored a grade 8 or higher (median = 9, IQR = 1) for the participatory exercises. A majority felt that the training helped them as a trainer to learn about ways to organise and teach a research integrity course (82%) and would recommend the interactive exercises to others (92%). Trainers have educated over 3300 researchers in Europe using our virtue-based approach. The VIRT2UE train-the-trainer programme fosters research integrity by providing trainers with exercises and tools which enable them to stimulate the development of good researchers across Europe.
AB - Universities and other research institutions are increasingly providing additional training in research integrity to improve the quality and reliability of research. Various training courses have been developed, with diverse learning goals and content. Despite the importance of training that focuses on moral character and professional virtues, there remains a lack of training that adopts a virtue ethics approach. To address this, we, a European Commission-funded consortium, have designed a train-the-trainer programme for research integrity. The programme is based on (1) virtue ethics, (2) the ethos of science, (3) learning by doing and (4) learner-centred teaching. The blended learning programme combines e-learning modules with participatory group sessions. Trainers are taught how to guide researchers through a series of structured exercises for fostering reflection on scientific virtues, and how to promote understanding and application of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. Trainers are provided with adaptable tools and resources that can be used and combined in different ways. The programme implementation began in Spring 2020 and 470 trainers have participated to date. When trainers were asked to grade – between 0 (very bad) and 10 (excellent) – the e-learning modules and the participatory exercises, 60% scored a grade 8 or higher (median = 8, IQR = 2) for the e-learning modules, whereas 80% scored a grade 8 or higher (median = 9, IQR = 1) for the participatory exercises. A majority felt that the training helped them as a trainer to learn about ways to organise and teach a research integrity course (82%) and would recommend the interactive exercises to others (92%). Trainers have educated over 3300 researchers in Europe using our virtue-based approach. The VIRT2UE train-the-trainer programme fosters research integrity by providing trainers with exercises and tools which enable them to stimulate the development of good researchers across Europe.
KW - Responsible conduct of research
KW - good research practices
KW - higher education
KW - professional ethics
KW - research integrity
KW - responsible research and innovation
KW - virtue ethics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85151981780&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/17470161231161267
DO - 10.1177/17470161231161267
M3 - Article
SN - 1747-0161
JO - Research Ethics
JF - Research Ethics
ER -