Research Integrity

The pursuit of knowledge with integrity is a fundamental tenet of scholarship. Although at times it might seem that your scholarly activities are a solo pursuit, as academics and scholars you will be developing your ideas in the context of others. Attribution of others’ ideas, documentation of your research activities, and the honest conduct of research (without fabrication or bias) are necessary to sustain the vibrant scholarly communities that you will be joining as a graduate student.

While academic integrity applies to your activities in the classroom and other requirements for your degree, research integrity applies to all of your activities as a researcher. As graduate students, many of you will be learning how to do research in your field. All researchers at the university, from students to tenured professors, are expected to conduct their research with integrity. 

Education - Sari Training

Through your coursework and the SARI (Scholarship and Research Integrity) Program Links to an external site., Penn State will provide you with the training necessary to understand what it means to conduct ethical research so that you can develop into both a successful and an ethical researcher.

As a graduate student, you must fulfill the SARI program requirements maintained by the ORP. The SARI program was created to help Penn State researchers at all career stages to identify, examine, and discuss ethical issues relevant to their disciplines.

Because research across disciplines can vary widely in accepted practices, check with your program and they will let you know what students in your area need to do to fulfill the SARI requirements. 

In addition to tracking requirements for the SARI program, the ORP offers educational programming, workshops, and panel discussions on a wide variety of topics related to research integrity. To learn more, visit the ORP website Links to an external site..

Research Misconduct

When researchers do not act with integrity, they jeopardize the credibility of research in their discipline and in the community at large. To help ensure that research is conducted ethically and with integrity, institutions and federal agencies have instituted policies aimed at preventing research misconduct. As representatives of the research community at Penn State, graduate students are held to the same research standards as faculty and staff. See the box below for definitions of the various components defined as research misconduct. The Research Integrity Officer (RIO) handles allegations of research misconduct for the University. To learn more, including how to avoid research misconduct and how to report suspected misconduct to the RIO, visit the Office for Research Protection’s webpages on Research Integrity Links to an external site..

Research Misconduct Definitions