Research Integrity, Stewardship, & Ethics

By adhering to institutional policies and procedures, federal regulations, and best practices within the research community, the University of Rochester is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research.

The Office of Research Integrity, Stewardship & Ethics (ORISE) is URochester’s central support for research integrity, research Conflict of Interest/Commitment, Responsible & Ethical Conduct of Research training, and data integrity. To learn more, follow the links below.

Sonya Maria Hadrigan

Associate Vice President Research Integrity, Research Integrity Officer

sonyah@rochester.edu

Kelly O’Keefe

Research Integrity Director

kokeefe8@ur.rochester.edu

Patricia Guinan

Conflict of Interest Administrator

pguinan@ur.rochester.edu

Sharon Pomeroy

Department Coordinator

sharon.pomeroy@rochester.edu

Zoe Hammatt

Advisor

zhammatt@ur.rochester.edu

Gunta Liders

Advisor

gunta.liders@rochester.edu

Reach out

Contact our office

Members of the ORISE team can be reached via our direct emails, at ORISE@rochester.edu, or at (585) 276-0485.

Our offices are located at 140 Trustee Road, 5th Floor, Rochester, NY 14627 (Hylan Building).

Policies & Guidance

Find the policies and practical guidance that help researchers, trainees, and staff navigate research integrity-related requirements and expectations. ORISE also provides tools and references to support consistent, fair application across the University.

Research Conflict of Interest & Commitment

ORISE is available to help faculty, trainees, and staff navigate research COI and Conflict of Commitment disclosures and understand how reported activities are reviewed and, when necessary, managed. The resources available here provide information on the University’s requirements and provide links to relevant policies, guidance, and forms.

Responsible & Ethical Conduct of Research

Policy on Research Misconduct

https://www.rochester.edu/policies/policy/policy-on-research-misconduct/

Definitions

This glossary explains common research integrity and compliance terms used in ORISE resources. It’s intended to promote clarity and shared understanding for faculty, trainees, and staff.

Research

Research in general means a systematic experiment, study, evaluation, demonstration, or survey designed to develop or contribute to general knowledge (basic research) or specific knowledge (applied research) by establishing, discovering, developing, elucidating, or confirming information or underlying mechanisms.

Research misconduct

“Research misconduct” is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

Fabrication is defined as making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
Falsification is defined as manipulating research materials, equipment or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
Plagiarism is defined as the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results or words without giving appropriate credit.
Honest error or difference of opinion is not research misconduct.

Reporting Concerns

Concerns related to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research can be reported confidentially to the Research Integrity Officer (RIO), Sonya Hadrigan, or to the Office of Research Integrity, Stewardship, & Ethics at ORISE@rochester.edu or (585) 276-0485. Anonymous reports can be submitted to the Research Integrity Helpline.

Concerns related to other improper or unethical behavior may be reported to the University’s Office of Integrity and Compliance via the Integrity Helpline (anonymous reports accepted) or (585) 756-8888.

The University prohibits retaliation against individuals who report concerns in good faith.

Research Integrity Resources

The University has identified the following tools as possible external resources for use by the URochester research community. Users of Proofig and similar AI tools are reminded to not rely solely on such tools to reach conclusions (either positive or negative), and to observe the University’s guidelines on AI, namely: (i) Protect University data, (ii) Verify the results from AI tools, (iii) Disclose the use of AI tools when reporting.

protocols.io

Open-access platform for sharing laboratory and clinical research protocols. Protocols receive DOIs, can be linked to publications, and support community feedback. It can also be used as a private or shared virtual lab notebook.

iThenticate

Used by major federal agencies and leading research journals to detect plagiarism, it allows faculty to check grant applications and manuscripts against extensive web and publication databases.

proofig

Before submitting your manuscript, ensure image integrity with Proofig AI, which detects duplications, manipulations, AI-generated images, and image.

LabArchives

LabArchives is an electronic laboratory notebook that can help you organize and manage your research safely and quickly. The University of Rochester has selected LabArchives as our institution-wide, electronic lab notebook solution. Researchers at UR can access LabArchives free of charge to manage both research labs and laboratory courses.

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