Cameron Skinner | Photo by David Ward
Recently, the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies appointed Cameron Skinner from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as Concordia’s first research integrity officer.
His role is to provide information, support, training and assistance to the community in fulfilling all obligations related to research integrity.
We spoke to Skinner to get a better sense of how he sees his role and how the new position can help the community meet the highest standards.
Why a research integrity officer?
Cameron Skinner: Fundamentally, the public expects that academics act with integrity, since our research is the cornerstone of our profession. Without it we lose people’s trust and our findings become useless.
Here at Concordia, we have aligned ourselves to the highest standards set by federal and provincial funding agencies. This position will help ensure that policies are adhered to.
What will you be doing in your new role?
CS: There is an important educational component to my position. Research is not black and white; there are a lot of grey areas. It’s crucial to have someone to speak with to know what is acceptable and what is not, and how to carry out projects carefully, methodically and openly.
In the coming months I’ll be developing an outreach campaign that will involve the creation of a web page, going to faculty meetings and engaging with students. The community needs to know that there are resources to guide them and a framework in place that can help them navigate uncertainties.
One of the main aspects of the role will be to facilitate the process of investigating specific cases where the soundness of a project is put into question. I’ll work hand in hand with the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies as well as with faculty deans.
Complaints related to integrity are oftentimes misunderstandings, and my role will be to help resolve these. Researchers can make mistakes, but there are ways of correcting these and eventually learning from them.
I would also like to stress that any researcher who has doubts can contact me directly and confidentially.
If you have any questions relating to the integrity of your or others’ research at Concordia, Cameron Skinner can be contacted atrio@concordia.ca or by phone at 514-848-2424 ext. 3341.
Learn more about the Office of Research.