Code of Ethics

As an Institution dedicated to the search for truth through teaching, scholarship and research, Krupanidhi College is committed to excellence and integrity in all its endeavors. The institution proclaims that all researchers intend to follow the below principles and values of academic integrity, so as to bring esteem to the institution and its academic research:

• An academic community should involve above all a commitment to intellectual honesty and personal responsibility for ones actions and to a range of practices that characterize responsible research conduct.
• An academic community should nurture a mutual trust to encourage the mutual and free exchange of thoughts and enable all to reach their highest potential goals.
• An academic community should actively encourage respect among staff, students and faculty.
• An academic community 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, the terms and conditions regulating access to research resources and the laws of libel.
• An academic community should seek to make the results of its research as widely and freely available as possible.
• An academic community should seek to ensure equality in institutional standards, practices and procedures as well as fairness in interactions among the members of the community.
• An academic community should maintain high standards of research by necessitating shared responsibility for upholding academic integrity among all members of the community.
• The Management, the Dean and the Principal are the Board of Council and all the decisions and actions of the board should be in the best interests of the institution and employees.
• There should be clarity of purpose and the intention behind the research activities.
• The set standards of ethical and legal behavior to be followed by all the participants.
• No covered party can use college property, information or position for improper personal gain without the prior written consent of the college
• Covered Parties are required to act honestly, in good faith, and with professionalism. No Covered Party may take unfair advantage of another person through harassment, manipulation, abuse of privileged information, misrepresentation of material facts, or any other unfair practice.
• Covered Parties must maintain the confidentiality of confidential information entrusted to them, except when disclosure is authorized by an appropriate officer of the College or required by law.
• Investigator has to discover the relevant research problem and prepare a project proposal.
• The proposal has to submit to a funding agency through K-RIC.
• The Principal Investigator (PI) leads the project and keep track of the experimental process.
• Principal Investigator has to ensure that the results are published in the form of reports or research papers in journals.
• Principal Investigator should also inspire young researchers.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A RESEARCH STUDENT

• Initially, the Research Student should consult his mentor/expert before conducting the research.
• After consulting his/ her mentor, student must thoroughly discuss the research design, program of research, questionnaire etc.  
• Research student should be conscious of issues which are pertaining to plagiarism, intellectual property (IP), and falsification of data, and unnecessary delays in completion of their research work.

WHAT CONSTITUTES MISCONDUCT?

Misconduct does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretation or judgment in evaluating research methods or results, or misconduct unrelated to the research process.

In case of misconduct or deviation of recommended ethical practices by a research investigator or a research student, disciplinary action can be taken against them if their guilt is proved.  

The acts which are considered as research misconduct comprises:

• Fabrication – Reporting of experiments never conducted
• Falsification – Misrepresentation or suppression of data to project a desired result
• Plagiarism – Reporting another’s data as one’s own
• Fraud – Deliberate and wilful suppression of previous work in publications to claim originality or to avoid quoting previous publications contrary to present results.
• Breach of confidentiality - Presenting as one’s own ideas or data obtained from privileged access to original grants, manuscripts etc. is also considered as misdemeanour in the same category.
• Violation – Violation of intellectual property rights;
• Misuse of Funds – Misuse of research funds or resources provided by the University or an external sponsor.

REPORTING OF CASES OF MISCONDUCT

1. Anyone has the right to report an observed, suspected or apparent misconduct to the members of the Ethics Committee when he or she becomes aware of it.
2. If an individual is unsure whether a suspected incident of misconduct falls within the definition of Misconduct, he or she should discuss this with the members of the Ethics Committee informally.

REPORTING AND EVALUATION OF THE COMPLAINT

1. The charge of misconduct has serious effects for all concerned. Therefore, investigation related to the review of suspected misconduct will be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible.
2. The Committee should conduct a preliminary review of the report and provide an immediate opinion to the Principal Investigator.
3. If the Principal decides to set up an investigation committee, the Ethics Committee should recommend its members to the Principal to form an Investigation Committee.

        The scope of the committee shall be:

• To investigate the accuracy of charge of misconduct
• To assess the extent and nature of alleged misconduct
• The committee is expected to complete the investigations and report submission within a period of 60 (sixty) days.
• Upon completion of investigation, the Ethics Committee should decide whether or not to take or recommend disciplinary action(s).

DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

• In a case of minor misconduct, the Ethics Committee is authorized to issue a Notice of Warning to or demand a Letter of Apology from an individual who is responsible for the misconduct.

• In a case of serious misconduct, the Ethics Committee should decide whether or not to endorse consents. The consents may include, but are not restricted to:

• Resubmission of a research work;
• A letter of warning issued by the Principal Investigator which may or may not be recorded in the personal file of the individual;
• Deduction from salary;
• Suspension of grant/contract;

The right to interpret the provisions hereof rests with the Governing Council of the Institution. The Governing Council may give authorization to the Ethics Committee to interpret the provisions on its behalf as well.