Developing the evidence-base to inform policy on inclusive research design

Area of Science:

• Health and Biomedical Research
• Research Policy
• Scientific Integrity

Background:

• Responsible research conduct necessitates considering diversity to ensure reproducibility, minimize bias, and equitable benefit.
• Health and biomedical research must integrate diversity and inclusion into study design and execution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate health researchers' current approaches to diversity and inclusion in research design.
• To inform the UK Medical Research Council's (MRC) research policy development regarding diversity.
• To establish a benchmark for assessing the impact of future diversity and inclusion policies.

Main Methods:

• An anonymized public survey distributed to 772 researchers on diversity and inclusion in research design.
• Evaluation of 590 research funding applications to assess the implementation of diversity considerations.

Main Results:

• 50% of human participant researchers reported considering diversity (typically age and sex).
• Only 43% of animal researchers reported using both sexes, with only 28% demonstrating this in grant applications.
• A significant gap exists between reported practices and documented evidence in funding applications, particularly for animal research.

Conclusions:

• Many researchers do not consistently incorporate diversity into research design.
• A discrepancy was identified between self-reported practices and actual application content, especially in animal research.
• The MRC has implemented a new policy requiring explicit demonstration of diversity and inclusion in research design, with this survey serving as a baseline for impact evaluation.