• 02 Apr 2021
• 2021

UEH Research Code of Conduct

Chapter I: GENERAL GUIDELINES

Article 1: Scope and Targeted Subjects

1. Scope:
   1. Within University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), including any and all UEH-affiliated organizations and branches
   2. Beyond the parameters of UEH campus, where both local and international officers, collaborators, researchers are carrying out scientific research as assigned by UEH

2. Targeted Subjects:
   1. Official officers and employees currently working at UEH
   2. Visiting lecturers, specialists, collaborators, researchers who are committed by labor contracts with UEH and all UEH-affiliated organizations
   3. Learners who are currently pursuing higher education and/or research at UEH

Article 2: Purpose

1. To guide all targeted subjects to follow and abide by the code of ethics in scientific research,
2. To build and maintain an academic environment that promote honesty, transparency while ensuring integrity and enhancing accountability in all scientific research activities at UEH
3. To elevate the academic reputation and sense of responsibility of individual scientists and of UEH within the domestic and international research community
4. To establish the basis for observing and conducting of the code of ethics in scientific research in accordance to international practices, and to handle violations accordingly

Article 3: Definitions

In this Policy, the following terms are defined as follows:

1. Officials currently employed at UEH, who are Vietnamese citizens, and were recruited based on job needs, and are working under a valid labor contract and receiving salary from UEH. Officials currently working at UEH include the teaching staffs (lecturers) and those in management
2. Employees working at UEH, who are Vietnamese citizens, and were recruited and/or appointed to UEH Management/Leadership apparatus, including the University President, the Chairperson of the University Council and Vice Presidents.
3. Visiting lecturers, specialists, collaborators and researchers at UEH, including both foreign nationals and Vietnamese citizens, who are currently under a research contract/agreement with UEH
4. Learners who are currently pursuing higher education and scientific research at UEH, including research fellows of Master’s and PhD programs, students of all Bachelor’s Programs (both standard and internationally-affiliated programs)
5. Researchers are understood as all those who fall under items 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, and have participated in scientific research activities at UEH.

Chapter II: UEH CODE OF ETHICS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Article 4: General Principles

Quality and credibility in scientific research are a measure of UEH’s academic reputation, for which each UEH member has to a responsibility to uphold, enforce and disseminate the general principles to protect and preserve and code of ethics in scientific research, which includes:

1. HONESTY in all aspects of research;
2. ACCOUNTABILITY for the undertaking and conducting of research;
3. FAIRNESS and PROFESSIONAL RESPECT when co-researching with other authors;
4. RESPECT and RECOGNITION of other authors when conducting, dissemination and publishing research.

Article 5: Responsibility of UEH Researchers

1. HONESTY & TRANSPARENCY: UEH Researchers must be held accountable for the reliability of their research  
2. COMPLIANCE WITH ALL REGULATIONS: UEH Researchers must be aware of and comply with regulations and policies related to scientific research
3. RESEARCH METHODS: All research methods must be utilized and implemented in a reasonable manner, based on scientific reasoning, new findings and must be fully and objected explained
4. RESEARCH RECORDS: UEH Researchers are obligated to keep complete, detailed, clear and accurate records of the research implementation process and the results achieved upon completion so that others can evaluate and repeat/reproduce research findings
5. RESEARCH RESULTS: UEH Researchers are encouraged to publicly disclose data and research findings after he/she has been successfully published in national and international publications
6. AUTHORSHIP: The list of authors must include all individuals who participated in and contributed to all research-related activities, including applying for research grants, reporting and presenting on research findings
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: UEH Researchers must be responsible for acknowledging the contributions of individuals or organizations involved in the research, including their names and roles in supporting the research, such as donors, peer reviewers, and other relevant personnel, but are not co-authors.
8. PEER REVIEW: Researchers who engage in peer reviews must be responsible for providing fair, rigorous, timely and faire reviews while also respecting the confidentiality of the process on other people’s research
9. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: UEH Researchers should disclose financial conflicts or related issues that could affect the credibility of research in their research protocols, publications, and media to the public, as well as in peer review activities
10. PUBLIC & MEDIA COMMUNICATION: UEH Researchers should refrain from commenting on their expertise when engaging in public discussions in the media, and should clearly separate their expertise from their personal perspective when discussing the applications and importance of all research findings
11. REPORTING ON RESEARCH VIOLATIONS: UEH Researchers must reach out to the Research Integrity Committee and the Department of Research Management – International Relations when there is suspicion of research misconduct, including data forgery, plagiarism and other irresponsible behaviors, such as listing the wrong authors, omitting or not reporting on conflicting data, or using incorrect research methods
12. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: UEH Researchers must uphold their moral obligations and principles when considering societal benefits and inherent occupational risks over personal gains in the research process.
13. HANDLING IRRESPONSIBLE RESEARCH CONDUCT: Research Management Units need to have procedures in place to respond to allegations of misconduct and irresponsible research behaviors, while also protecting the “whistleblowers” / reporters. Once the misconduct and irresponsible research behaviors have been confirmed, appropriate corrective actions must be taken in a timely manner.

Chapter III: IMPLEMENTATION

Article 6: Responsibilities of the University and individuals

1. The Leadership Team of all faculties and departments are responsible for grasping and implementing this policy to all officials and students, and monitoring, evaluating and carrying out proper performance reviews
2. Officials, in addition to strictly complying with UEH regulations, must firmly grasp, abide by and advising their colleagues and peers to also uphold the policies outlined
3. Department of Research Management – International Relations is responsible for acknowledging, recording and responding to all comments and feedbacks from UEH officials and students regarding suspicions of research integrity violation and misconduct. The identity of the “whistleblower” / reporter must be kept confidential in accordance to international standards and practice
4. Department of Research Management – International Relations, Department of Human Resources, Department of Finance – Accounting, Faculties/Schools, Training/Research Institutes, and all relevant organizations must coordinate to supervise the implementation of this regulation.

Article 7: Disciplinary Actions

1. Individuals who violate the scientific research integrity policies, depending on the severity level, will be reprimanded and disciplined in the following manners:

1. The Leadership Team of their respective function/department will conduct a direct, one-on-one discussion
2. A reprimanding and disciplinary meeting with their department staffs and divisions
3. A public disciplinary meeting with all relevant departments/faculties and meeting notes shall be recorded

2. In case of serious violation and/or of repeated offenses, the Department of Research Management – International Relations will present details of their investigation to the Research Integrity Committee for further handling and sanctions in accordance to the law and UEH regulations.

Article 8: Terms of Implementation

1. This Policy will be in effect from the date of its signing
2. This Policy is disseminated to all UEH-affiliated organizations and entities. In the process of implementation, should there required additional adjustments to meet actual demands and situations, each department/unit must submit their request to the Department of Research Management – International Relations for consolidation and presenting to the Research Integrity Committee for consideration and decision.

Signed by Professor Nguyen Dong Phong