To raise a concern
Whom to contact and what to do when you wish to raise a research-related concern or complaint.
The University expects staff and students to conduct their research to the highest standards of integrity and compliance and to follow acceptable best practices. However, in the course of conducting research, on occasion things can go wrong. In the first instance, research participants should discuss their concerns with the study team and Oxford staff and students should discuss concerns with their department or faculty.
There may be occasions when an incident occurs that causes concern that cannot be resolved by discussing with the study team or require further investigation. These incidents must be appropriately and proportionately managed and documented in line with University procedures.
Research participants may wish to raise a concern to someone independent of the research team, where issues have not been resolved satisfactorily, and they may do this via contacting the Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance Team on [email protected].
For incidents in relation to clinical research, including potential serious breaches, contact RGEA at [email protected].
Concerns over a potential breach of research integrity will be dealt with in accordance with the University's Academic Integrity in Research: Code of Practice and Procedure.
Queries from students or researchers at Oxford regarding research ethics and integrity should initially be raised and discussed within your department or faculty as appropriate. Concerns regarding research integrity at Oxford can be raised confidentially with Kate Dunbar, Research Policy Manager in Research Services, University of Oxford.
Third parties (for example representatives of research funders, research journals, professional bodies) wishing to raise concerns, in confidence, about the integrity of research at the University of Oxford are invited, in the first instance, to also contact Kate Dunbar.
Formal allegations of misconduct in research should be made in writing to the Registrar (Gill Aitken).
If there is concern of a potential data breach, the Information Compliance Team can be contacted on [email protected].