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60 hours · 4 Credits · Online + in person
Who this course is for
- PhD scholars completing coursework
- M.Phil. scholars and interested faculty members
- Colleges and universities that want to offer RPE to their research scholars
Research & Publication Ethics (RPE) is an online research and publication ethics course for PhD scholars and researchers. It is based on the UGC RPE syllabus and follows its six modules — from the philosophy of research ethics to open access, databases and research metrics.
The syllabus totals 30 hours: 15 hours of theory and 15 hours of practice. Practical sessions include group discussions on real cases, plagiarism-checking tools and working with citation databases and research metrics.
This course is based on the UGC RPE syllabus. It is not a UGC-approved course, and your university decides how RPE is offered and credited for PhD coursework.
What you will learn
- Explain the core principles of research ethics and integrity
- Recognise and avoid plagiarism, fabrication and falsification
- Identify predatory journals and choose credible publishing venues
- Understand open access, copyright and self-archiving
- Use citation databases and research metrics responsibly
Course modules
01Philosophy and Ethics
- Introduction to philosophy — definition, nature, scope and branches
- Ethics — moral philosophy and the nature of moral judgements
02Scientific Conduct
- Ethics with respect to science and research
- Intellectual honesty and research integrity
- Scientific misconduct: falsification, fabrication and plagiarism
- Redundant publication — duplicate and overlapping publications, salami slicing
- Selective reporting and misrepresentation of data
03Publication Ethics
- Publication ethics — definition, introduction and importance
- Best practices and guidelines, such as COPE and WAME
- Conflicts of interest
- Publication misconduct — concept, types and what leads to it
- Authorship and contributorship
- Identifying misconduct, complaints and appeals
- Predatory publishers and journals
04Open Access Publishing
- Open access publications and initiatives
- Checking publisher copyright and self-archiving policies (SHERPA/RoMEO)
- Tools to identify predatory publications
- Journal finder and journal suggestion tools
05Publication Misconduct
- Group discussions: subject-specific ethical issues, authorship, conflicts of interest
- Complaints and appeals: examples and fraud from India and abroad
- Plagiarism-checking software and open-source tools
06Databases and Research Metrics
- Indexing databases
- Citation databases such as Web of Science and Scopus
- Journal metrics — Impact Factor, SNIP, SJR, IPP and CiteScore
- Author metrics — h-index, g-index, i10-index and altmetrics
How it is delivered
For institutions
- Institutional licence — LMS access with recorded videos, live classes, PDF notes and quizzes for your students.
For individual learners
Join on your own: self-paced videos plus weekly live sessions.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Research and Publication Ethics course required for PhD coursework?
In December 2019 the UGC asked universities to make a two-credit Research and Publication Ethics (RPE) course compulsory for PhD students' pre-registration coursework. The UGC PhD Regulations 2022 also include an RPE course in PhD coursework. How it is offered and credited is decided by your university, so check with it.
Is this course approved by the UGC?
No. The UGC approved the RPE course framework — two credits, 30 hours and six modules — in 2019. Our course is based on that syllabus and follows its six modules. It is not itself a UGC-approved course, and whether your university accepts it for coursework is the university's decision.
How many hours is the course?
The UGC RPE syllabus is 30 teaching hours in total — 15 hours of theory and 15 hours of practice.
Who can take it?
The UGC syllabus is meant for M.Phil. and PhD scholars and interested faculty members.
Is this course online?
Yes. It runs online on our LMS, with recorded lessons and live sessions.
Can a university offer it to its scholars?
Yes. Universities and colleges can take it for their research scholars — request a proposal.
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