Introduction: the manual to the manual

Welcome to the ENERI research ethics and research integrity manual. Before you lies, or perhaps more realistically is displayed, a resource for both researchers designing or attempting to design research, as well as professionals evaluating that research. True to the ENERI programme, this resource is neither limited to research ethics, nor to research integrity. We do recognise that the list of issues, however ordered or prioritised, identified as being part of either, requires some type of label. That label exists to help legitimise them as relevant and significant normative elements of research, as well as allows readers to actually find what they are looking for.

This does not mean that the boundary between research integrity and research ethics is not fuzzy at best, and that ongoing debate on how to organise both normative frameworks collaboratively is best targeted to help actual practices. Recognising that such debates require flexibility and resources that can grow and shape themselves (obviously with all the help it, and we, can get) to be of the greatest value for that debate, we chose to design this living manual.

Please click here to download the ENERI e-Manual.

It’s alive

This e-Manual is a living resource, inviting engagement rather than consumption. It contains no technical or technocratic instruction, but rather seeks to instil deliberation around issues of research ethics (RE) and research integrity (RI). While we have included scores of links to a diverse array of RE and RI prescriptions, we do not seek to harmonise them. Rather, we intend to allow the reader to access, assess, weigh and judge them for themselves, seeking merit where it deems fit.

A living manual requires curation, care and contribution. These three actions are initiated with the authors but cannot be limited to them, to facilitate it from reaching the largest possible relevance. This means that cases may be added in section 3, and changes, expansions, additions and more and more can be suggested and ultimately made, to sections 1 (RI) and 2 (RE).

We hope this resource provides what you seek.

The ENERI team