ACLS Undertakes New Project to Develop a Multidisciplinary Research Integrity Framework

In partnership with Professor Joan McGregor and the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at Arizona State University, ACLS is conducting a publicly-oriented research integrity project to develop and articulate an understanding of research integrity principles spanning all academic fields. 

This effort builds upon and integrates the robust standards and governance mechanisms for research integrity that have been developed exist in the sciences and quantitative social sciences with comparable cross-field guidance in the humanities and interpretive social sciences. The gap in understanding between fields has become increasingly consequential as institutions confront questions of public trust in higher education and the rapid incorporation of artificial intelligence and large language models into scholarly work.

The project was prompted by sustained conversations with leaders at major research universities who are seeking to rebuild trust in higher education. Institutions have expressed a need for clearer, field-appropriate standards that reflect the actual practices and values of academic research. At the same time, learned societies have developed a range of codes of conduct, journal standards, and professional guidelines. While valuable, these resources are often siloed by discipline and do not always speak to shared challenges or emerging technologies. This project aims to synthesize and extend that work through coordinated consultation.

This initiative is designed to complement—rather than duplicate—existing efforts led by the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, and others, by integrating perspectives from the sciences while addressing the distinctive epistemic practices, methods, and professional norms of the humanities and social sciences. 

By articulating shared principles of research integrity, this project will strengthen institutional capacity to uphold ethical standards, respond to misconduct, and communicate the value and rigor of academic research to broader publics—especially at a moment of technological and political change.

Goals and Objectives

The project seeks to produce, through extensive consultation, a publicly accessible statement of principles of research integrity applicable across all academic disciplines.

The document will:

• Articulate shared ethical commitments that cut across many different disciplines and methodological approaches.
• Address field-specific complexities through guidelines related to research methodologies, including authorship, interpretation, evidence, peer review, and public engagement.
• Explicitly engage the ethical implications of AI and large language models for research design, knowledge production, attribution, and dissemination.
• Serve as a practical resource for academic administrators, faculty, and professional societies responding to allegations of misconduct or seeking to strengthen research culture.