Rotatory role-playing and role-models to enhance the research integrity culture

Project Information

Path2Integrity

Grant agreement ID: 824488

DOI

10.3030/824488

Project closed

EC signature date 30 November 2018

Start date 1 January 2019

End date 30 June 2022

Funded under

• Develop the governance for the advancement of responsible research and innovation by all stakeholders, which is sensitive to society needs and demands and promote an ethics framework for research and innovation

Total cost

€ 2 497 636,25

EU contribution

€ 2 497 636,25

Coordinated by

HOCHSCHULE FUR ANGEWANDTE WISSENSCHAFTEN COBURG
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Path2Integrity (Rotatory role-playing and role-models to enhance the research integrity culture)

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2022-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Path2Integrity aims to foster a positive culture of research integrity in and beyond Europe by developing and evaluating both formal and informal research integrity learning paths. Path2Integrity's actions help maximise research and innovation's quality and societal impact. More specifically, Path2Integrity pursues two overall objectives, namely:
1. Establishing and disseminating excellent learning paths based on research integrity role models and rotatory role-playing outlined in Path2Integrity's Learning Card Programme.
2. Launch an awareness-raising campaign for educational organisations that presents scientific facts about research integrity and features research integrity role models.
Both the Path2Integrity Learning Card Programme and the Path2Integrity campaign address influencers, champions, and others directly involved in research (e.g. researchers and students) and indirectly involved in research (e.g. secondary school students and teachers).

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Path2Integrity coordinated and supported actions to promote a research integrity culture. The consortium divided its work into four phases: (1) mapping and analysis, (2) development, (3) implementation and dissemination and (4) effectivity. Path2Integrity completed all phases in June 2022.
Significant achievements of Path2Integrity include:
Objective 1:
An up-to-date map on innovative educational methods to learn research integrity
The Path2Integrity roadmap is a categorised collection of innovative and traditional educational materials usable for teaching and learning research integrity.
You can find the Path2Integrity Learning Card Programme in different languages here: https://www.path2integrity.eu/ri-materials

Objective 2:
An up-to-date map on curricula in which research integrity is included nowadays
An up-to-date map of secondary school and university curricula that include research integrity, research ethics or associated fields was published as "Validation of the mapping of innovative methods and research integrity curricula" (Häberlein et al., 2019) in RIO Journal.

Objective 3:
A Path2Integrity RI-facts and role-model campaign and its assessment
Campaign materials were developed and subjected to the overall project evaluation. Regarding the campaign materials, the evaluation focused on assessing the project's strategies, content, and design. In this way, it helped to improve all materials before publishing and disseminating their final version.
You can find the material in different languages here: https://www.path2integrity.eu/campaign-materials

Objective 4:
A Path2Integrity handbook of instructions and its assessment
At the end of 2020, Path2Integrity completed three target group-specific versions of the Path2Integrity handbook, called the Path2Integrity Learning Card Programme (P2ILC). The learning materials accompanying each handbook are the so-called learning cards. These cards outline learning units adaptable to different disciplines and utilise innovative teaching and learning methods, such as vivid storytelling, coming to an agreement and rotatory role-playing.
You can find the Path2Integrity Learning Card Programme in different languages here: https://www.path2integrity.eu/ri-materials

Objective 5:
A Path2Integrity training programme for educators
This objective describes the overall goal of WP4, which started at the beginning of 2020. A notable step towards this goal was compiling a needs assessment plan and its approval by the consortium in March 2020.
Path2Integrity developed the first version of the Path2Integrity curriculum for educators with the contribution of the consortium and advisory board members.You can find the videos of the training programme here: https://www.path2integrity.eu/ri-materials

Objective 6:
The Path2Integrity training centre
The Path2Integrity training centre builds upon the Path2Integrity learning card programme (P2ILC) and the training programme for educators (P2ITE).

Objective 7:
The Path2Integrity campaign
Implementing the Path2Integrity campaign builds upon developing the campaign materials. The communication channels to reach stakeholders were established by WP7 during the first 15 months of the project implementation, particularly by establishing and maintaining a recognisable project brand as well as by communicating and broadly disseminating the project results to a wide range of target groups, including secondary school students and higher education students, on the one hand, and their teachers and professors on the other.

Objective 8:
The effectivity of the Path2Integrity two components
WP6 laid the ground to test the effectiveness of Path2Integrity's two-component approach in Deliverable 6.1. Due to irregular teaching conditions after school and university closures during (the first wave of) the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe, Task 6.4 continued until June 2022. Deliverable 6.3 describes the effectivity of Path2Integrity's two components.

Objective 9:
Synergies with European projects promoting and teaching research integrity
Path2Integrity has established close relations with INTEGRITY, VIRT2UE, EnTIRE and ENERI. It has also developed a systematic map of the projects that depict how they relate to each other and jointly contribute to fostering a culture of research integrity. Path2Integrity, VIRT2UE and INTEGRITY conducted a pre-conference workshop on research integrity education at the World Conference on Research Integrity 2022. Moreover, Path2Integrity presented the cluster of projects at the World Educational Research Association Conference 2021 and the ENRIO Congress 2021.

Objective 10:
Outreach to policymakers and stakeholders
Path2Integrity developed specific outreach activities. In this context, Path2Integrity appointed an international policymaker and stakeholder board to support the embedding of the project in the broader research and education community. . In March 2021, board members participated in two online panel discussions on "Embedding research integrity educational institutions: fostering responsible research from secondary school to higher education" and "Promoting research integrity education: the role of funding organisations, publishers, policymakers and international cooperation".

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The Path2Integrity campaign and the Path2Integrity Learning Card Programme constitute a novel dialogical two-component approach for secondary school and university students to learn research integrity. The two components foster a positive research integrity culture and improve the quality and impact of research and innovation in society.
Path2Integrity evaluated all developed materials and gave evidence-based recommendations on how to use the material in formal settings. All material will remain downloadable without restrictions and free on the website and in the RIO journal. By training trainers and forming a community of research integrity educators, Path2Integrity initiated a permanent network, which will stay active in the future as a founding member of the Network of Education and Research Quality.
The COVID-19 outbreak provided the impetus for Path2Integrity to adapt its learning sessions to digital sessions and train trainers virtually and in virtual classrooms in a digital learning environment. With Path2Integrity, educators (can) use appealing and easy-to-use learning units for teaching research integrity.

Path2Integrity logo