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, to cultivate a research environment that is underpinned by an ethos of integirty, 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 new Research Integrity course has been comprehensively updated to integrate the principles set out in the updated Concordat to Support Research Integrity.  This new edition of the course delivers up-to-date, institution-wide integrity training to minimise the risk of research misconduct, increase confidence in published works, and support funding agency requirements.  

Who should take the Research Integrity programme?

The Research Integrity course is available to all researchers at SOAS. It is a mandatory requirement for academic staff in receipt of externally funded research grants and postgraduate research students at the Upgrade stage to PhD.  

Students on taught programmes (Undergraduate and Masters) who are intending to undertake primary research are strongly encouraged to take the course and this may be deemed mandatory depending upon the nature of any proposed research activity. 

Course structure

SOAS has a subscription to the Research Integrity 2.0 UK version. The course is divided into two components:

  • Research Integrity – Core (8 modules)
  • Research Integrity – Supplementary (5 modules)

Research Integrity – Core

The eight modules of this course are as follows:

  1. Good Research Conduct
  2. Irresponsible Research Practices
  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 Core component is mandatory and will need to be completed in full.  The programme certificate can be downloaded upon completion.  Individual certificates can also be downloaded when each module is complete. 

Research Integrity – Supplementary

The five modules of this course are as follows:

  1. Conflicts of Interest
  2. Responsible Conduct of Research with Human Participants
  3. The Care and Use of Animals in Research
  4. Intellectual Property
  5. Export Controls

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, for example modules 2 and 4.

How to access the Research Integrity course

  • 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

Further information

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