BEYOND Guidelines for Preventing and Addressing Research Misconduct

The BEYOND Guidelines for Preventing and Addressing Research Misconduct are an aspirational document intended to guide research communities in cultivating environments that promote responsible research conduct and institutional accountability. Rooted in the belief that research integrity (RI) is a shared responsibility, these Guidelines are addressed to all actors in the research ecosystem, including researchers, research performing organisations (RPOs), research funding organisations (RFOs), citizen scientists, ethics and integrity bodies, publishers, and policymakers.

This document follows the lead of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (ECoC) and affirms its core principles of reliability, honesty, respect, and accountability. In particular, it endorses the ECoC’s emphasis on the importance of the research environment in sustaining RI. The BEYOND Guidelines adopt and further develop this perspective by explicitly advancing an ecosystem approach to research misconduct (RM), one that recognises how systemic, organisational, epistemic, socio-technical, and psychological factors interact to shape research culture and behaviour.

Rather than treating RM solely as an individual failure, the Guidelines recognise the institutional, socio-economic, and cultural contexts in which research is conducted. They offer recommendations that balance aspirational norms with practical considerations for prevention, mitigation, and rehabilitation.

By addressing RM not only as individual wrongdoing but also as a systemic challenge, the BEYOND Guidelines contribute to a culture of continuous learning and improvement