Research integrity online programme

SOAS places a premium upon maintaining the highest ethical standards in our unique areas of research, working to foster values of honesty, rigour, openness, care and respect as set out in the Concordat to Support Research Integrity.

SOAS works to ensure that all research conducted under its auspices conforms to the appropriate ethical, legal, and professional standards. Cultivating a research environment that is underpinned by an ethos of integrity, reflexivity, governance, and best practice is a continual process for researchers at all levels. SOAS has subscribed to the Research Integrity programme since 2016. 

The current version of the course (version 2.2, UK edition) has been substantively revised, with further updates to reflect the 2025 Concordat to Support Research Integrity, a new supplementary module on Research Supervision and Mentorship, and new integrated multidisciplinary cases.

Who should take the Research Integrity programme?

The Research Integrity course is available to all researchers and professional services staff at SOAS. 

While it is acknowledged that there may be some overlap, successful completion of the course, including the refresher training where applicable, is a mandatory requirement for the following:

• Academic staff in receipt of externally funded research grants, including RKE convenors
• Postgraduate research students at the Upgrade stage to PhD
• Doctoral supervisors
• All academic (dissertation) supervisors for students on Taught (undergraduate/ postgraduate) courses 
• Students on Taught (undergraduate/ postgraduate) courses intending to undertake primary research.

SOAS has a subscription to the Research Integrity course (2.2, UK version). The course is divided into two components.  Completion of the Core component (all eight modules) remains the mandatory requirement.

Research Integrity - Core

The mandatory Core modules are:

1. Responsible research practice
2. Irresponsible research practice
3. Planning your research
4. Managing and recording your research
5. Data selection, analysis and presentation
6. Scholarly publication
7. Professional responsibilities
8. Communication, social responsibility and impact

The programme certificate can be downloaded upon completion. Individual certificates can also be downloaded when each module is complete, should this be required.

Research Integrity - Supplementary

There are six modules for this course which are as follows:

1. Conflicts of interest
2. Research involving human participants
3. [The care and use of animals in research]
4. Intellectual property
5. Trusted research and export controls
6. Research Supervision and Mentorship

Other than module (3), the remainder can be completed. Depending upon the nature of planned research activity, some modules may take precedence for researchers over others.

Refresher Training

For researchers who have already completed the Core Components, a new programme is now available. It is designed for researchers to update their knowledge and stay informed on emerging issues and UK policy changes. Entitled ‘Research Integrity: Refresher, ’ this is a shorter programme made up of three modules: research integrity knowledge check, UK policy updates, and Current and emerging issues.

• Go to Epigeum Online Courses
• Click on the user menu (top right) and then on ‘Register’
• Complete the registration form accurately and only use your SOAS email address
• The token to be entered on the registration form is: 4a72231d
• After clicking on the terms of service boxes, press the blue icon marked 'Register'
• The registration process is completed by clicking on the activation link that is sent to your SOAS email address

For further information regarding the course or related queries, please email the Research Ethics and Governance Officer Khalid Hasan (kh44@soas.ac.uk).