Research practice training and tests

All PGRs should complete academic integrity, research integrity and research ethics training. 

These should be included in your training plan and completed within the first six months of study (nine months for part-time study), before the first formal progress review stage. 

We understand that you are experienced in producing academic work and are likely to be familiar with the practices and conventions covered in the training. Nevertheless, the training will ensure that your formal assessments at the transfer and thesis examination stages meet the University’s academic integrity and research integrity expectations. By following the guidance, you can be sure that your work meets the University’s academic and research integrity expectations. 

Academic integrity tutorials and tests   

The PGR Academic integrity tutorial is split into two parts: ‘Essentials’ and ‘Advanced’.  You should complete both parts.  

PGR academic integrity: essentials 

This unit covers: 

  • Definitions and expectations of academic integrity. 
  • Good academic and study practices. 
  • Referencing, citing and quoting. 
  • Note making and summarising. 
  • Plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice.  
  • Sources of advice and support. 

The unit and test take about 20 minutes to complete. You can take the test as many times as you need to achieve full marks and complete the unit. Your progress will be visible to the Doctoral College and your Graduate School. 

PGR academic integrity: advanced 

You should complete this part before the transfer stage (for doctoral degrees) or by examination entry (for Masters by Research degrees).  

This unit covers:  

  • Re-use of work in your thesis 
  • Collaboration at PGR level 
  • PGR viva examination conduct and practice 

Each topic and test will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. You can take the test as many times as you need to achieve full marks and complete the unit. Your progress will be visible to the Doctoral College and your Graduate School. 

Access both tutorials via Minerva – look for the ‘PGR Academic Integrity’ folder. 

If you have any trouble accessing the tutorial, please check that you have completed registration for your studies (allow one day after registration before attempting to access). If you are still having difficulty, please contact IT.   

Research integrity and research ethics online training   

This training is made up of two courses, and introduces your responsibility to fully consider the ethical implications of your work and apply the core principles of research integrity. 

Alongside the training, please talk to your supervisors about research ethics and the possible requirement for ethical approval before starting your project.   

Each online course will take around 30 minutes. You can access both the research integrity training and the research ethics training through the OD&PL Training Catalogue.    

Other academic integrity training and support 

If you have any other queries about academic integrity you should talk to your supervisors, Director of PGR Studies or your Graduate School. 

Support with academic writing is available from a number of teams across the University – see the postgraduate training and research skills page for further information.  

The Researcher@Library website includes various sources of support and advice for PGRs, as well as courses that are available to book. They also have resources covering academic integrity and plagiarism

Studies