2020 Seminars and conference presentations
University of Huddersfield (Inside Government Training), 22 January 2020
Nicole Palmer was invited to deliver her full day training seminar on ‘Ensuring research integrity in higher education’ at the University of Huddersfield. The seminar covered She covered ‘Outlining the next steps in improving research integrity across the UK research community’, ‘Building a culture of research integrity within your own organisation’, ‘The revised Concordat to Support Research Integrity: meeting the requirements’, and ‘Investigating research misconduct: Responsibilities and recommendations’.
2019 Seminars and conference presentations
Ministry of Science & Technology of the PRC (Sino Bridge International), 10 December 2019, London
Nicole Palmer was invited to present to a delegation from China led by the Deputy Director General of the Department of Supervision and Scientific Integrity, Ministry of Science and Technology, and consisting of senior members of the Ministry of Science and Technology, other major government ministries and departments, provincial authorities, and leading HE institutions in an event organised by Sino Bridge International. She spoke and took questions on ‘Building a culture of research integrity’.
Inside Government Training, 14 November 2019, London
Nicole Palmer was invited to develop and present a full day training seminar on ‘Ensuring research integrity in higher education’. She covered ‘Outlining the next steps in improving research integrity across the UK research community’, ‘Building a culture of research integrity within your own organisation’, and ‘Investigating research misconduct: Responsibilities and recommendations’.
International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), 5-9 August, Glasgow UK
Nicole Palmer spoke about her research in a presentation entitled ‘Ethical implications of mental (in)capacity legislation in the UK. Barriers to the involvement of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in research’
2018 Seminars and conference presentations
Applied research ethics and integrity conference, 4 April 2018
Kent (via The Tizard Centre, SSPSSR) hosted its first ever Applied Research Ethics and Integrity Conference on Wednesday 4 April at which it also launched the Applied Research Ethics and Integrity Research Cluster with a champagne reception. An opening address was provided by Professor Karen Cox, Vice-Chancellor, followed by expert speakers in the fields of philosophy, publishing ethics, veterinary science, biosciences and research ethics review. There were over 60 attendees from universities and other organisations across the UK, including academics, research administrators and students. Feedback was excellent and many have joined the Research Cluster.
Presentations:
2017 Seminars and conference presentations
Practical seminar: Research evaluation & assessing research quality, 13 – 14 March, Berlin
Nicole Palmer delivered a two-hour interactive session on Addressing Research Integrity at this European Academy for Taxes, Economics & Law event in Berlin. Attendees were from universities and research organisations throughout Europe.
Westminster briefing event, 26 April, London
Nicole Palmer spoke about optimising postgraduate training in research ethics and integrity at this Westminster Briefing Seminar entitled Delivering and maintaining the highest standards of research integrity in HE.
Social policy association annual conference, 10-12 July, Durham
Nicole Palmer was awarded a bursary to attend the SPA Annual Conference in July which was hosted by Durham University. She presented on her PhD research relating to the ethical implications of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
NCURA 59th annual meeting, 6 – 9 August, Washington DC
Nicole Palmer won a travel award to attend the National Council of University Administrators (NCURA) 59th Annual Meeting in Washington DC. She presented to an international audience on a Virtue Ethics approach to postgraduate training in research ethics and integrity.
2016 Conference presentations
Social policy association annual conference, Belfast 4-6 July 2016
Cluster founders Professor Rachel Forrester-Jones and Nicole Palmer presented at this year’s Social Policy Association Annual Conference in Belfast on the 5th July. Their paper, ‘I just need to get through ethics’: are Research Ethics Committees working? A comparative study between the UK and Spain’, presented collaborative work they have been undertaking with colleagues in Spain, investigating research ethics review requirements and processes in the two countries. A restrictive, compliance-based model of research ethics review, originally developed to govern clinical research, is often unsuitable for social research methodologies. Faced with this environment and with limited time in the schedule training in research ethics becomes purely procedural, focusing on techniques to navigate review processes, with little time devoted to research integrity or discussion of research ethics.
With evidence that questionable research practices are on the rise, providing researchers with a solid grounding in research integrity is becoming increasingly important for universities and research institutions. Our work demonstrates that effective training can help to provide researchers with the necessary skills to be able to conduct their research with integrity and to confidently address emergent ethical issues while undertaking research.
International association of the scientific study of intellectual & developmental disabilities, 15-19 Aug 2016
Nicole Palmer and Professor Rachel Forrester-Jones presented a poster publicising their research ‘Are people with IDD who lack capacity to consent at risk of being excluded from research? Ethical implications of the UK Mental Capacity Act 2005’ at this World Congress in Melbourne, Australia.
Seattle club conference, December 2016
Nicole Palmer presented at the Seattle Club conference in December which was hosted by Glasgow Caledonian University. She spoke on an ongoing research project she’s currently conducting with Professor Rachel Forrester-Jones on the ethical implications of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in a talk entitled ‘Are people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities who lack the capacity to consent at risk of being excluded from research?’. The study involves analysis of REC decision letters and interviews with researchers who have gone through the review process and aims to explore whether the additional regulatory burden is affecting researchers’ decisions on whether to involve people with IDD who lack the capacity to consent in their projects.
2015 Consultancy work
In 2015 Dr Forrester-Jones was invited by the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain to provide research ethics and integrity training and to help develop a University research ethics committee for research involving human participants. She, along with Nicole Palmer, visited the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha in December 2015 to provide the training, evaluate its effectiveness and had discussions regarding setting up further collaborative working relationships.
Training
Graduate school training sessions
Professor Rachel Forrester-Jones and Nicole Palmer deliver annual training workshops for postgraduate researchers via the Graduate School Researcher Development programme. These workshops are subject area specific, and include sessions targeted towards social sciences, humanities and sciences students and provide opportunities for broad discussion of wider issues relating to research ethics and integrity as well as questions specific to students’ own research projects. Workshops usually run during the autumn term.
PGCHE training
Professor Rachel Forrester-Jones and Nicole Palmer presented a seminar on research ethics and integrity on 3 June 2016 for staff studying for the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education. The session provoked some interesting discussions on researchers’ attitudes towards research ethics review procedures, and opinions about their own integrity as researchers.
Kent law school assistant researchers training
Professor Rachel Forrester-Jones and Nicole Palmer presented on research ethics and integrity on 21 June 2016 at a training session for Kent Law School students on a research assistants scheme. Participants were particularly interested in evidence of the pressures facing researchers that could lead them to consider conducting questionable research practices.