Ep 26 - Upholding and modelling research integrity in higher education

Richard Oloruntoba | Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management & Supply Chain Lead, Curtin Business School, Curtin University

In this video, Richard Oloruntoba discusses his role as Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Curtin University, focusing on upholding research integrity in the postgraduate/PhD student context, in accordance with the institution’s robust research framework.

Richard’s own research background in humanitarian logistics and supply chains for emergency response, and his teaching of commercial supply chain management, is the basis for his lifelong commitment and modelling of research integrity, that he explores through the prism of research accuracy, transparency and accountability.

Detailing Curtin’s commitment to compliance, training and safeguarding of data to ensure a robust research integrity framework that adheres to institutional policies in addition to broader legislation, Richard advocates for making research integrity more visible, and less hidden. He contends that research integrity is not an automatic transfer of knowledge and must be explicitly taught and learnt, through demonstration of best (and bad) practices, towards saturation throughout an institution.

Richard shares his experience in managing the risks and breaches associated with research integrity, including reconciling expectations from international students conforming to Australian policies. He also identifies source attribution as the biggest pitfall for students, situating it as largely the product of a learning gap, as opposed to deliberate misconduct.

Finally, Richard reflects on the importance of edtech tools in reinforcing research integrity and detecting breaches - including Turnitin’s iThenticate platform - giving examples of their value when checking student research proposals. He further considers the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning for future decision-making support when engaging with big data and supporting the research endeavour.