Research depends on the responsible collection, management, storage, and use of data. The integrity of research, and the trust of research participants and the community, depends on protecting data throughout the research lifecycle.

Researchers should consider data management before collecting data and establish clear plans for:

• Ownership – Determine who owns or has rights to the research data and how those might may be affected by funding sources, institutional policies, research participants, or agreements with external partners. The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for managing research data, while the University generally owns data generated through research conducted by its employees.
• Collection – Collect only the data necessary for the research and establish appropriate procedures for documenting, protecting, and maintaining data integrity.
• Storage and Security – Use appropriate safeguards to protect research data from unauthorized access, loss, or disclosure. Sensitive information, including Protected Health Information (PHI), Personally Identifiable Information (PII), and confidential research data, requires particular attention to privacy and security.
• Sharing and Access – Establish who may access or receive research data and use appropriate agreements and secure methods for sharing data. A Data Use Agreement (DUA) may be required when receiving or sharing restricted or non-public data.
• Data Management Planning – Develop a Data Management Plan (DMP) that addresses the types of data being collected, storage and security, privacy, access and sharing, long-term preservation, and responsibilities for data management.

Protecting Research Data

Everyone who accesses or manages research data is responsible for protecting its confidentiality and security. Researchers should use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, secure storage and transmission methods, encryption when appropriate, and limit access to those with a need to know. Suspected or actual unauthorized access or disclosure should be reported immediately to UNLV IT (ithelp@unlv.edu, 702-895-0777).

Responsible data management helps protect research participants, preserve the integrity of research, maintain confidentiality, and build trust between researchers and the community.

Recommended Resources

• NIH Data Management & Sharing Policy Overview
• NIH Scientific Data Sharing: Policies and Access to Data
• NSF Preparing Your Data Management and Sharing Plan

Researchers increasingly collaborate with colleagues who bring expertise, resources, or perspective needed for a project. Collaborations range from sharing specialized techniques or resources to large, multi-site projects involving academic institutions, healthcare organizations, community partners, and industry.

Collaborative research involves multiple researchers working together with shared intellectual responsibility for a research project. Collaborations may be interdisciplinary teams, intra- or inter-institutional, academic-industry partnerships, and community-engaged research.

Responsibilities in Collaborative Research

In addition to the responsibilities associated with Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), collaborators should establish clear expectations at the beginning of a project. Important considerations include:

• Goals and Roles – Establish shared goals and clearly define each participant’s responsibilities.
• Leadership and Decision-Making – Determine how decisions will be made and disagreements resolved.
• Authorship and Credit – Establish criteria for authorship and recognition of contributions.
• Data and Intellectual Property – Clarify data access, management, sharing, ownership, and intellectual property.
• Communication – Establish expectations for communication, feedback, and changes to the research.
• Dissemination – Agree on how and when research findings will be communicated or published.

Clear expectations are an ethical responsibility as well as an important element of effective research management.

Common Challenges

Collaboration increases the complexity of both the research and the relationships among team members. Common challenges include disputes over authorship or credit, data access and ownership, unequitable workloads, intellectual property, resource allocation, and communication. Differences in career stage, institutional authority, funding, or financial interests can also create power imbalances that should be recognized and addressed.

Most collaboration problems can be reduced through thoughtful planning and open communication.

Compliance and Agreements

Depending on the research, collaborations may require additional compliance oversight or formal agreements. Researchers should determine early whether the project involves human subjects, multiple institutions, shared data, external or industry partners, or intellectual property. Appropriate agreements may include subawards, data-sharing agreements, Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), or collaboration agreements.

Before Beginning a Collaboration Consider the Following

• Are goals and expected outcomes aligned?
• Have roles and responsibilities clearly been defined?
• Has authorship and credit been discussed?
• Is there a shared approach to data management?
• Have communication and decision-making processes been established?
• Which compliance offices or oversight entities need to be involved?
• Are appropriate agreements in place?

Planning at the beginning of a collaboration can prevent misunderstandings and can support productive, ethical research partnerships.

Recommended Resources

• ORI Introduction to RCR by Nicholas Steneck, Ph.D.
• Preempting Discord: Prenuptial Agreements for Scientists by Howard Gadlin and Kevin Jessar
• Silence is Not Golden: Making Collaborations Work by Joan P. Schwartz, Ph.D.

Mentoring is an essential part of responsible research and helps trainees develop the knowledge, skills, judgement, and professional independence needed for successful research careers. The mentor-trainee relationship can take many forms and may involve faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate or undergraduate students, research staff, and other researchers at earlier career stages.

Effective mentoring begins with clear expectations and open communication. Mentors and trainees should discuss and, when appropriate, document their mutual responsibilities, including:

• Roles, expectations, and responsibilities
• Research goals, supervision, and feedback
• Authorship, credit, data, and intellectual property
• Research integrity, compliance, and responsible conduct
• Professional and career development
• Communication, boundaries, and resolving disagreements
• Opportunities for increasing independence and responsibility

Mentors should provide appropriate supervision, training, feedback, and support while modeling integrity, professionalism, respect, and ethical research practices. As trainees develop, mentors should encourage increasing independence and help them prepare for future research and career opportunities.

Trainees also have responsibilities. They should engage actively in their training, conduct research with integrity, communicate their needs and concerns, follow applicable policies and procedures, seek and respond to feedback, and take increasing responsibility for their professional development.

A productive mentoring relationship requires more than an initial understanding of expectations. It depends on ongoing communication, mutual respect, appropriate boundaries, and a commitment from both mentors and trainees to address challenges together Clear expectations established early can help prevent misunderstandings regarding research responsibilities, credit, data, and career development.

Recommended Resources

• ORI Introduction to Responsible Conduct of Research
• Guide to Training and Mentoring in the Intramural Research Program at NIH
• Guidelines for Mentors at NIH
• Guidelines for Trainees at NIH
• NSF 101: The Mentoring Plan
• Advisor, Teacher, Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Students in Science and Engineering
• Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers: A Guide for Postdoctoral Scholars, Advisors, Institutions, Funding Organizations, and Disciplinary Societies

Peer review is the evaluation of research, manuscripts, proposals, or other scholarly work by individuals with appropriate expertise. It is an essential part of the research lifecycle and helps assess the quality, rigor, significance, and relevance of scholarly work. Peer review informs important decisions about:

• Funding – Evaluating research proposals and grant applications
• Publication – Assessing manuscripts for scholarly journals and other publications
• Professional Advancement – Evaluating research contributions for hiring, promotion, and tenure
• Research Quality – Identifying strengths, limitations, errors, and opportunities to improve scholarly work

Responsible peer review should be:

• Fair and impartial based on established evaluation criteria rather than personal or professional preferences.
• Thorough and constructive, providing clear, respectful feedback supported by evidence.
• Timely, recognizing the importance of review deadlines to researchers and the research community.
• Confidential, protecting unpublished research, intellectual property, personal information, and review discussions.
• Free from unmanaged conflicts of interest, with potential conflicts disclosed and appropriately addressed.
• Conducted within the reviewer’s expertise, with limitation in relevant knowledge identified when appropriate.

Reviewers should be mindful of explicit and implicit biases and avoid allowing personal, professional, financial, or other interests to influence their evaluations. They should not share confidential materials, use information obtained through peer review for personal benefit, or disclose review discussions or decisions without authorization. Peer review is a professional responsibility that depends on integrity, trust, and respect for researchers and the scholarly community. Reviewers should follow the specific policies and procedures of the journal, funding agency, institution, or other organization conducting the review.

Recommended Resources

• ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research
• Integrity and Confidentiality in NIH Peer Review
• Managing Conflict of Interest in NIH Peer Review
• NIH Information for Reviewers

Researchers communicate their work through many channels, including laboratory meetings, conferences, scholarly publications, public presentations, and other forms of communication. Regardless of the format, responsible publication should provide a full and accurate account of the work, report results honestly and transparently, and present and appropriate interpretation of the findings. Researchers should also consider ethical and compliance requirements, protect confidential or sensitive information, and select appropriate publication venues.

Authorship recognizes significant contributions to research and carries responsibility for the integrity of the published work. Authorship practices should:

• Reflect meaningful contributions to the research or manuscript
• Be discussed early and revisited as contributions and responsibilities change
• Accurately represent contributions, including through acknowledgements or contributor statements when appropriate
• Follow applicable disciplinary and journal standards, recognize that authorship practices vary across fields
• Include only individuals who meet established authorship criteria and avoid honorary, guest, or gift authorship
• Ensure that authors review and approve the final work and accept responsibility for their contributions

Researchers should avoid practices such as honorary or guest authorship, ghost authorship, inappropriate authorship based solely on position or status, and excluding individuals who made substantial contributions. Contributor frameworks such as the CRediT taxonomy can help research teams clearly document and communicate individual contributions.

Responsible publication also includes avoiding plagiarism, duplicate or overlapping publication, selective or misleading reporting, and other practices that may compromise the accuracy or integrity of the scholarly record. Researchers should establish clear expectations regarding authorship, credit, responsibilities, and publication plans as part of responsible collaboration.

Recommended Resources

• ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations
• Contributor Role Taxonomy – National Information Standards Organization
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)