Research Misconduct

St. Catherine University, through its commitment to academic excellence and ethical leadership, strives to promote a climate of honesty in research. The University has established a policy on misconduct in research applicable to all research at the institution. This policy is available for review in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

St. Catherine University considers knowing and willful substantial failure to comply with requirements affecting specific aspects of the conduct of research to be Research Misconduct. This includes failure to comply with Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols with respect to the protection of human subjects. Examples of Research misconduct might include any of the following when undertaken knowingly and willfully:

• failing to seek IRB approval before beginning research with human subjects
• failing to seek renewal of IRB approval following the lapse of such approval
• failing to report adverse events with human subjects
• modifying a research protocol without consulting IRB
• failing to adequately report risks to human subjects
• failing to secure informed consent

These and other forms of possible misconduct in research involving human subjects are subject to the policies and procedures outlined in the Research Misconduct Policy

The University and the IRB recognize that honest errors are an inevitable part of the research process. To be fair and effective, the policy on research misconduct contains procedures for distinguishing instances of knowing and willful research misconduct from “honest” errors, simple carelessness, and minor infractions.