The Good institutional practice guide (the Guide) brings together information on values, concepts and ideas that underpin a high-quality research culture. Although developed to support institutional and research leaders as they implement positive change, the Guide can be used by anyone involved with the conduct, administration and oversight of research.

A PDF version of the complete Guide is available from the Downloads section.

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User Guide

The Good institutional practice guide (the Guide) is designed as a resource for institutional and research leaders (hereafter referred to as leaders) seeking to promote an open, honest, supportive and respectful institutional research culture that supports the conduct of high-quality research. The Guide aligns with a key objective of NHMRC’s Research Quality Strategy.1

Whilst focused on providing guidance for leaders, everyone involved in a sector contributes to its culture. As such, this Guide may be of interest to all those responsible for, or involved with, the conduct, administration and oversight of research. This includes researchers, undergraduate and postgraduate research students, staff involved with research ethics, staff involved with research governance, research administration staff, and research support staff (for example, librarians, information technology professionals, data stewards, core facility staff).

Suggested activities in the Guide give practical expression to the values underpinning an open, honest, supportive and respectful research culture and are grouped according to seven key elements of research culture. Embedding these changes is intended to foster an institutional research culture in which researchers feel supported to conduct high-quality research. The Guide also provides self-reflection questions that leaders can use as prompts to determine their stage of implementation. Case studies and scenarios demonstrate how some institutions have achieved positive cultural change.

NHMRC recognises that many institutions already have processes and initiatives in place to support the conduct of high-quality research and to improve research culture. The Guide has been designed as a resource for leaders, and all sector participants, as they work collaboratively to implement cultural change.

The intended outcomes from the Guide are:

  • Institutional and research leaders are supported to strengthen their research culture.
  • The quality of research is enhanced so as to maximise value from the investment of public funds.
  • Initiatives that improve research quality are recognised and rewarded.

Scope

This Guide is focused on how leaders can promote and facilitate the conduct of high-quality research by fostering an open, honest, supportive and respectful institutional research culture.

The Guide does not provide guidance about specific research practices or fields of research.

Behaviours such as research misconduct and poor interpersonal behaviour, such as bullying and harassment, are critical issues that affect research culture. However, strategies and guidance for managing these behaviours lie outside the scope of this document.

  • The management of research integrity matters and research misconduct is addressed under NHMRC’s existing framework of policies and guidelines.2
  • The management of personal and interpersonal issues is addressed in relevant legislation and institutional human resources policies and guidelines.

Structure of this Guide

  • Section 1 describes values that underpin an institutional research culture that is conducive to the conduct of high-quality research.
  • Section 2 outlines elements of institutional research culture that shape the research working environment.
  • Section 3 presents information about the approach used in this Guide for achieving improvements in institutional research culture.
  • Section 4 outlines suggested activities that can be used by leaders to strengthen their institutional research culture.
  • Section 5 provides definitions and abbreviations used in the Guide.
  • Section 6 provides information about relevant international initiatives, useful resources and references.

Introduction

Research culture

Research culture encompasses the behaviours, attitudes, values, expectations and norms of research communities.3,4

Diagram showing relationship between research culture and behaviours, attitudes, values, expectations and norms. Research culture is at the centre of a circle with behaviours, attitudes, values, expectations and norms around the circle and arrows pointing towards Research culture.

As well as influencing the way that science is governed, funded, performed and communicated, research culture also affects researchers’ careers and the quality of research.4 An open, honest, supportive and respectful research culture has been shown to result in increased researcher satisfaction and wellbeing at work, enhanced performance, capability development and better researcher retention.5 Researchers are more likely to thrive and produce high-quality research when their institution has a positive work environment and culture.

Recent surveys of the Australian research sector highlighted concerns about education and training in responsible research practices, research integrity, mentorship, unhealthy competition, publishing pressures, promotion assessment processes, funding/costs, job insecurity, and questionable research practices.6,7,8,9 Early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) reported that job insecurity, short-term contracts and the pressure to obtain external funding are having a negative effect on their wellbeing, with 56.5% classified as having high stress and 54.3% experiencing work-related burnout.10 These concerns are not unique to the Australian sector.11,12,13,14 Examination of the links between culture, policies and processes that govern research systems and research practices are the subject of numerous international initiatives and activities in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States of America (Section 6.1).

The research ecosystem encompasses government departments, funding agencies, research institutions, journals and publishers. While institutions have an influential role in the research ecosystem, they are not the sole drivers of research culture and practices. A range of economic, political, social and cultural factors can work together to create pressures and incentives that influence the research environment and research practices. Comprehensive cultural change requires a collaborative effort by all members of the research ecosystem to align values, incentives and policies. This Guide is intended to provide guidance for one part of the ecosystem – leaders in research institutions seeking to promote a research culture that is conducive to the conduct of high-quality research.

High-quality research

Research quality refers to the way the research is planned, performed and reported, as well as to the methodology, rigour and judgement applied to all aspects of the process.15

High-quality research is rigorous, transparent and reproducible, and:

  • contributes to scientific progress
  • is essential for the translation of research outcomes into practical and clinical applications and evidence-based policy
  • delivers the highest possible value from research investment and public funds
  • respects research participants, the wider community, animals and the environment
  • promotes community trust in scientific findings.1

Examples of responsible research practices that contribute to high-quality research

Note: This list is not exhaustive, and an example may be relevant to only a specific type of research.

  • Consumer and community involvement: actively work with consumer and community representatives so that they help shape decisions about research priorities, and are involved in all stages, levels and types of research.
  • Establishment of research question: consider the evidence base (for example, literature reviews, systematic reviews, qualitative systematic reviews, scoping reviews); include input from the people who will ultimately benefit from the research; interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Study design: consider sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation as appropriate; implement good statistical design and appropriate sampling strategies; prepare for all types of missing data; consider safety and/or welfare risks to study participants, workers, animals or the environment; report during the planning stage (for example, pre-registration, registered report, statistical analysis plan, data management plan).
  • Study conduct: use appropriate qualitative and/or quantitative methods, blinding during sample/data collection; randomisation; keep adequate records; good data management and storage.
  • Analysis: use blinding during data analysis, reduce bias in analysis and interpretation of results; conduct appropriate statistical analysis.
  • Reporting and dissemination: disseminate research findings responsibly, accurately and broadly; complete reporting including methodology, data and findings; open access publication and when relevant, align with the principles for Indigenous data governance; report negative/neutral results; share results with research participants and stakeholders.

National research framework

Australia’s framework for responsible and ethical research conduct is underpinned by three national standards:

Together these standards provide guidance on responsible and ethical research conduct across all research disciplines, with the Code establishing the overarching framework. This framework also includes a range of supporting policies and guides focused on specific cohorts and specific issues to support responsible and high-quality research conduct. For example:

1 NHMRC’s Research Quality Strategy. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council (2019) [Internet] Accessed 10 Dec 2024 from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/nhmrcs-research-quality-strategy

2 National Health and Medical Research Council. NHMRC Research integrity and misconduct policy.(2019) [Internet] Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed 10 Dec 2024 from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/research-policy/research-integrity/our-policy-research-integrity

3 The Royal Society (UK) – Research culture. Accessed 21 Nov 2023 from: https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/research-culture/

4 Science Europe. Priorities-Research culture. Accessed 21 Nov 2023 from: https://www.scienceeurope.org/our-priorities/research-culture/

5 Golley R, Mott K. Creating a culture of research performance in the Caring Futures Institute. Sep. 2020. Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University. ISBN 978-1-925562-76-7. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024 from: https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/publications/creating-a-culture-of-research-performance-in-the-caring-futures-

6 NHMRC: Survey of research culture in Australian NHMRC-funded institutions. 2020. Accessed 21 Nov 2023 from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/research-policy/research-quality

7 Christian K, Johnstone C, Larkins JA, Wright W, Doran MR. A survey of early-career researchers in Australia. eLife [internet] 2021;10. Epub 2021/01/12. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60613

8 Australian Council of Learned Academies (2023), Research Assessment in Australia: Evidence for Modernisation. A report to the Office of the Chief Scientist, Australian Government, Canberra. Accessed 13 Nov 2024 from: https://acola.org/research-assessment/

9 Australian Academy of Science/Nature. Research Integrity – Needs and provision of training in Australian Institutions. 2022. Accessed 21 Nov 2023 from: https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/science-policy-and-analysis/reports-and-publications/research-integrity-australian-institutions

10 Taiaroa G, Kirkland K, Lawford B, Walton C, Long K, Ayton D, with support from colleagues and Research Australia. The Landscape for emerging health and medical academic leaders in Australia. Accessed 13 Nov 2024 from: https://mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/early-career-academic-network/resources/mdhs-eca-network-resources/landscape-for-emerging-academic-leaders

11 Kaiser M, Drivdal L, Hjellbrekke J, Ingierd H and Rekdal OB. Questionable research practices and misconduct among Norwegian researchers. Science and Engineering Ethics 2022, 28:2. Accessed 16 Dec 2024 from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-021-00351-4

12 Gopalakrishna G, ter Riet G, Vink G, Stoop I, Wicherts JM, Bouter LM. (2022) Prevalence of questionable research practices, research misconduct and their potential explanatory factors: A survey among academic researchers in The Netherlands. PLOS ONE 17(2): e0263023. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263023

13 Roy S, Edwards, MA. NSF Fellows’ perceptions about incentives, research misconduct, and scientific integrity in STEM academia. Sci Rep. [internet] 2023;13, 5701. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32445-3

14 Brooker R, Allum N. Investigating the links between questionable research practices, scientific norms and organizational culture. Res Integr Peer Rev 2024;9:12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-024-00151-x

15 Australia’s Chief Scientist. Trust in science. Clarifying the distinctions between research integrity, research quality, excellence and impact. Office of the Chief Scientist. Australian Government. 31 July 2023. Accessed 28 Feb 2025 from: https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/news-and-media/trust-science

16 Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018 Guide to Managing and Investigating Potential Breaches of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018, and NHMRC policy on misconduct related to NHMRC funding, 2016. [Internet] Accessed 21 Nov 2023 from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/research-policy/research-integrity

17 National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council and Universities Australia. National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (Updated 2018). [Internet] Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed 21 Nov 2023 from: www.nhmrc.gov. au/nationalstatement

18 National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes, 8th edition (2013, updated 2021). [Internet] Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed 21 Nov 2023 from: https://nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-code-care-and-use-animals-scientific-purposes

19 National Health and Medical Research Council. Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders. 2018 [Internet] Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed 21 Nov 2024 from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/resources/ethical-conduct-research-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-and-communities

20 National Health and Medical Research Council. Keeping research on track II: A companion document to Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders (2018), Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra. Accessed 28 Feb 2025 from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/resources/keeping-research-track-ii 

21 National Health and Medical Research Council. Statement on consumer and community involvement in health and medical research. 2016. [Internet] Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed 21 Nov 2024 from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/statement-consumer-and-community-involvement-health-and-medical-research

22 National Health and Medical Research Council. Statement on sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation in health and medical research. 2024. [Internet] Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed 21 Nov 2024 from: www.nhmrc.gov.au/research-policy/gender-equity/statement-sex-and-gender-health-and-medical-research

23 National Health and Medical Research Council. Best practice methodology in the use of animals for scientific purposes. 2017. [Internet] Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed 21 Nov 2024 from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/best-practice-methodology-use-animals-scientific-purposes

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