Academic excellence being one of the cornerstones of the University’s mission, the faculty and students are driven to uphold the principles of academic integrity for which there are guidelines such as:

• Honesty: They should advance the quest for truth, knowledge, scholarship and understanding by requiring intellectual and personal honesty in learning, teaching and research.
• Trust: They should foster a climate of mutual trust to encourage the free exchange of ideas and enable all to reach their highest potential.
• Fairness: They should seek to ensure fairness in University standards, practices and procedures as well as fairness in interactions between members of the University community.
• Respect: An atmosphere of respect must be promoted amongst students, staff and faculty, including respect for self, for others, for scholarship and research and for the educational process & intellectual heritage.
• Responsibility: They should uphold high standards of conduct in learning, teaching and research by necessitating shared responsibility for promoting academic integrity among all members of the University.
• Legality: They should observe valid legal norms related to the conduct and publication of research particularly in relation to copyright, the intellectual property rights of third parties, and the terms and conditions regulating research publication and resources.
• Communication: They should seek to make the results of their research as widely available as possible.

Academic misconduct or dishonesty refers to committing or contributing to dishonest acts by those engaged in teaching, learning, research, and related academic activities. It applies not just to students, but also to everyone in the academic environment. SRHU considers academic dishonesty a serious offense, regardless of whether it was committed intentionally or not. Academic dishonesty may be in any of the following forms:

• Cheating or use of Unfair Means – involves unauthorized use of information, materials, devices, sources or practices in completing academic activities or in examination. SRHU deals with breaches under this head as per University Ordinances.
• Plagiarism – involves adopting another person’s ideas, words, design, art, publication, work, etc., as his or her own without acknowledging the source, or without obtaining permission from the author. SRHU ensures anti-plagiarism by all in the University.
• Fabrication or falsification – involves the unauthorized creation or alteration of information in an academic document or activity, e.g. artificially creating data when it should be collected from an actual experiment, making up a source of information that does not exist.
• Sabotage – involves disrupting or destroying another person’s work so that the other person cannot complete an academic activity successfully, e.g. destroying another person’s artwork, experiment, or design; Failure to contribute as required to a team project would also be considered academic sabotage.

The University is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards and principles in the conduct of its research and defines the process and principles for the objective under various heads such as:

• Respect for persons-autonomy and protecting those with diminished autonomy: All participants must take part voluntarily, free from coercion or undue influence and their rights, dignity and autonomy should be protected.
• Beneficence and non-maleficence: Research done should be worthwhile and provides value that outweighs any risk or harm. Researchers should aim to maximize the benefit of the research and minimize potential risk of harm to participants and researchers. All potential risk and harm should be mitigated by robust precautions.
• Justice: A core principle of justice in relation to research is equal treatment. This furthers the expression of the principle of respect for persons. An injustice occurs when some benefit to which a person is entitled is denied to them without good reason or when some burden is imposed unduly on them. Researchers must give careful consideration to the overall societal impact of their research both in the selection of participants and the benefits and burdens arising from it.
• Informed consent: Informed consent requires that research staff and participants should be given appropriate (a) Information about the research in a language that is understood by the all including the participant; (b) in a Comprehensible manner (c) Voluntarily, that is without duress or inappropriate inducement.
• Confidentiality and data protection: Individual research participant and group preferences regarding anonymity should be respected and participant requirements concerning the confidential nature of information and personal data should be respected. Data generated by Institutional research must be securely stored appropriately in accordance with relevant University/Govt. policy.
• Integrity: Research should be designed, reviewed and undertaken ensuring that recognized standards of integrity are met, and quality and transparency are assured. Unacceptable practices include: fabrication by the creation of false data or other aspects of research, including documentation and participant consent; falsifications by the inappropriate manipulation and/or selection of data, imagery and/or consents; plagiarism by the misappropriation or use of others’ ideas, intellectual property or work (written or otherwise), without acknowledgement or permission; misrepresentation of data, for example suppression of relevant findings and/or data, or knowingly, recklessly or by gross negligence, presenting a flawed interpretation of data, material interests, involvement or qualifications and improper dealing with allegations of misconduct by failing to address possible infringements including attempts to cover up misconduct.
• Conflict of interest: The independence of research should be clear, and any conflicts of interest or partiality should be explicit. A conflict of interest arises where a researcher’s obligation to the institution or a funder to conduct research independently is likely to be compromised, or may appear to be compromised, that could be to:
  • Obtain a personal gain, or a gain to a member of their family or another person to whom they have a close personal relationship arising from the research. This gain may be financial or otherwise and/or,
    • Have commitments and obligations to another person or body that may appear to act as a potential influence over their independent conduct of the research.

There may be an appearance of conflict of interest even when no conflict actually exists. Researchers must disclose anything that may be perceived by others as a potential conflict of interest.

SRHU follows two-tier system of Research Governance. Every Academic Unit of the University has its own constituted Research Committee (RC), which comes under the umbrella of the University Research Committee (URC). The functions of the respective Research Committees of the academic Units are:

• To formulate policy on all research related matters which impact the strategic objectives of the University.
• To consider and make recommendations on matters of policy relating to research including matters referred to it by other constituent College/School committees.
• To facilitate high quality research activities within the university by reviewing and overseeing the intramural proposals for research, ensuring the use of honest and verifiable methods in proposing, performing, and evaluating the research.
• To address shortcomings and anomalies in the research proposals, and recommend improvements so as to enhance the quality of the researches.
• To approve procedures for allocating intramural research funds and monitor their implementation.
• To review and approve articles being sent for publication ensuring that the research results have been reported in accordance with the guidelines, rules, regulations and professional norms for research.
• To review and oversee the implementation of University’s policy on research ethics.
• To make recommendations to the University Research Committee, and advise the Dean of Research in his/her role in reporting internally and externally on research and related matters.

The composition of RC & URC is displayed on the University website.

The faculty and students conducting research are responsible for considering the ethical implications of their research and ensuring that they obtain the appropriate and required ethical approval before they begin the research.  Ethical approval must be obtained before any research involving human participants, identifiable personal data and/or animals is undertaken. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary procedures being initiated against them.  Due approval of the proposed research must be obtained through the constituted Research Committee of the respective Academic Units as well as the Ethics Committee. The respective Research Committee has to approve the research proposals of Ph.D. scholars.

University’s ethical review is required for:

• Research involving human participants, human tissue, material or remains and personal data; Human Research must follow ICMR Human Research Guidelines and due approval from the Institutes ethical Board (IRB) is essential.
• Any other types of research that might not involve humans but the research or results of the research may pose a risk of damage to the environment, or cause political or social tensions or sensitivities or may impact on cultural heritage.
• Animal Research is regulated by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC).

To enable the researchers, SRHU has a Human Ethics Committee, which is registered with the Department of Health Research, Ministry of health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India.  The Human Ethics Committee ensures that ‘The National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research Involving Human Participants’ as specified by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), are strictly implemented. The Registration certificate and SOP of the Ethics committee are available with the University.  

Research and experimentation on animals are covered by provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (amended in 1982) and Rules of Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control & Supervision) 1998 (amended in 2001 and 2006) framed under the PCA 1960. Government has constituted a Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) under the provision of Section 15 of PCA Act 1960. Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) is a local body, approved by CPCSEA, which has been empowered to permit experiments on small animals through an amendment in Rules for Breeding and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) in year 2006.

The Animal House, Swami Rama Himalayan University, Dehradun, was registered with CPCSEA in the year 2002, and the registration was renewed in year 2016. The University has an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) duly constituted as per the guidelines of the Central Government established ‘Committee for the purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals’ (CPCSEA). The IAEC has been designated the authority to certify the following objectives, ensuring that:

• Experiments on animals are avoided wherever it is possible to do so; as for example; in medical schools, hospitals, colleges and the like, if other teaching devices such as books, models, films and the like, may equally suffice.
• Animals intended for the performance of experiments are properly looked after both before and after experiments
• Experiments on animals shall be performed in every case by or under the supervision of a duly qualified person.
• Experiments are performed with due care and humanity and that as far as possible experiments involving operations are performed under the influence of some anesthetic of sufficient power to prevent the animals feeling pain.
• Animals, which, in the course of experiments under the influence of anesthetics, are so injured that their recovery would involve serious suffering, are ordinarily destroyed while still insensible.
• Experiments on larger animals are avoided when it is possible to achieve the same results by experiments upon small laboratory animals like guinea-pigs, rabbits, mice, rats etc.
• As far as possible, experiments are not performed merely for the purpose of acquiring manual skill.
• Suitable records are maintained with respect to experiments performed on animals.

2.4.1 Scope & Policy:

Considering the role of IPRs as barometer for R&D activities and a mode of technology transfer. IP protection and licensing is adopted for successful application of research in the larger societal interest. The SRHU ‘Policy on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’ details the issues covered and lays down rules and regulations in place for IPR creation and protection in the University.

2.4.2 Issues covered include:

• Intellectual property ownership criteria
• IPR policy administration
• Regulation of IPR policy
• Process of filing the patentable invention
• Evaluation of the documents
• Commercialization of IP
• IP licensing and technology transfer
• Revenue sharing
• Infringements, damages, liability and indemnity
• Conflict of interest
• Dispute resolution
• Jurisdiction
• Other pertinent issues

2.4.3 IPR Cell:

The University has an IPR Cell constituted under the aegis of the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST) whose Patent Information Centre facilitates the novelty assessment of the inventions. UCOST also provides technical and financial assistance for organizing IPR awareness programs in the University.

• Faculty and students of SRHU wishing to publish their papers in journals/books must abide by the following:

   

• Authors should accurately present their research findings and include an objective discussion of the significance of their findings.
• All and only those who qualify for authorship should be included as authors, and their contribution given in the manuscript.
• Any facts that might be perceived as a possible conflict of interest of the author(s) must be disclosed in the paper prior to submission to any journal for publication.
• Data and methods used in the research need to be presented in sufficient detail in the paper so that other researchers can replicate the work. Raw data must be made publicly available unless there is a compelling reason otherwise (e.g., patient confidentiality).
• Simultaneous submission of manuscripts to more than one journal should not be done.
• Original research results must be novel and not previously published, including being previously published in another language.
• For any content previously published (including quotations, figures or tables), any necessary permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder.
• Errors and inaccuracies found are the legal responsibility of the author(s).

The university conducts a course on Research & Publication Ethics of 30 credit hours for its Ph.D. Scholars for awareness about publication ethics and publication misconducts. The course focuses on basics of philosophy of science and ethics, research integrity, and publication ethics. Hands-on-sessions are designed to identify research misconduct and predatory publications. Indexing and citation databases, open access publications, research metrics (citations, h-index, Impact Factor, etc.) and use of plagiarism tools are introduced in this course.

3.3.1 Scope:

The SRHU ‘Prevention of Plagiarism Policy’ encompasses the written and published works produced at SRHU. The written works include academic and research publications (research papers and reports, books, articles, project reports, thesis [MD/MS, other Masters & Ph.D.], as well as IPR (patents, copyrights, design registrations etc.). The unpublished works would include experimental data. The plagiarism policy applies to all SRHU community including students, faculty and staff. The Deans of academic units/HoDs of Departments/Research Committee/Research Coordinators & Supervisors/Principal Investigators/Research & Ph.D. Cell shall also be responsible to disseminate information about plagiarism

3.3.2 Reporting of cases of plagiarism

It shall be the responsibility of the supervisor/principal investigator/corresponding author(s) to check the article/paper/thesis/IPR etc. for plagiarism. The contents of the article/paper/thesis/IPR document should be thoroughly checked manually and must also be subjected to appropriate plagiarism check through the software prescribed by the University using “Turnitin” software.  If plagiarism is detected, the HOD will send his/her report, based on software results and thorough study to the Departmental Academic Integrity Panel (DAIP) who will investigate the matter and submit the recommendations to the Institutional Academic Integrity Panel (IAIP) of the University. Constitution and roles and responsibilities of the DAIP and IAIP have been described in the SRHU ‘Prevention of plagiarism policy’.

3.3.2 Penalty for plagiarism

If any penalty has to be imposed, they will be as prescribed and detailed in the SRHU ‘Prevention of plagiarism policy’. There is a format for reporting the cases of plagiarism to competent authorities. 

The University reserves the right to interpret, alter, amend, modify, cancel or withdraw any provision mentioned herein above in this ‘Code of Ethics’ without any notice.

Notwithstanding anything stated in this ‘Code of Ethics’, for any unforeseen issues arising, and not covered herein above, or in the event of differences of interpretation, the Vice-Chancellor may take a decision and the decision of the Vice-Chancellor shall be final and binding.