Academic research record-keeping: best practices for individuals, group leaders, and institutions

During the last half of the 20th century, social and technological changes in academic research groups have challenged traditional research record-keeping practices, making them either insufficient or obsolete. New practices have developed but standards (best practices) are still evolving. Based on the authors' review and analysis of a number of sources, they present a set of systematically compiled best practices for research record-keeping for academic research groups. These best practices were developed as an adjunct to a research project on research ethics aimed at examining the actual research record-keeping practices of active academic scientists and their impact on research misconduct inquiries. The best practices differentiate and provide separate standards for three different levels within the university: the individual researcher, the research group leader, and the department/institution. They were developed using a combination of literature reviews, surveys of university integrity officials, focus groups of active researchers, and inspection of university policies on research record-keeping. The authors believe these best practices constitute a ''snapshot'' of the current normative standards for research records within the academic research community. They are offered as ethical and practical guidelines subject to continuing evolution and not as absolute rules. They may be especially useful in training the next generation of researchers.