The University Grants Commission (UGC) has published a guidance document on Tuesday which delivers a framework on good research practices. The title of this document is Good Academic Research Practices.
The document talks not only about the good practices but potential threats as well, reported The Indian Express.
The document has been prepared in partnership with Clarivate’s Web of Science, which is a network of researchers and publishers. It has indexed more than 34,000 journals.
This document gives details about various steps involved in conducting a research, namely — design, planning, execution, documentation and storage of data. The document also mentions the different misconducts which can happen while a research is being done.
The document tells current researchers on how to check for problem points in their research paper, including issues such as plagiarism, falsification, fabrication and misinterpretation of data. The guidance document can prove helpful for researchers in selecting the right journal for publication of their research papers and for mentoring the coming generation of research enthusiasts.
Speaking about the development, Vice Chairman of the UGC, Dr Bhushan Patwardhan, told The Indian Express that it will be a useful document. He said that there is a need to enhance academic integrity and quality of research.
Dr Patwardhan has played a significant role in fighting against predatory journals. Such publications or journals ask researchers to publish their findings on the portal for a fee but they don’t peer-review the paper or provide editing services. Basically, such journals do not have proper academic standards and this is why they have a faster turnaround time compared to legitimate peer-reviewed journals.
As per Dr Patwardhan, the document which is for Indian research scholars can prepare a foundation for research culture that emphasises on integrity in every day research practices.
UGC provides grants to scholars for their research projects in different fields. On behalf of UGC, National Entrance Test (NET) is conducted for research aspirants in India.
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