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Scholarly Ethics, Conduct, and Intellectual Property

Research Ethics and Legal Compliance

On Intellectual Property Rights

Faculty and MS CaRE students who will be engaged in research, as part of their course requirements including thesis, shall be governed by the applicable provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 10055, otherwise known as “An Act Providing the Framework and Support for the Ownership, Management, Use and Commercialization of Intellectual Property Generated from Research and Development Funded by the Government and Other Purposes”, including their respective Rules and Regulations, as well as existing and future policies of the University of the Philippines on Intellectual Property Rights such as but not limited to the following:

  1. Any knowledge or products emerging from the MS CaRE course requirements that will include but are not limited to videos, posters, brochures and publications shall clearly establish and identify the students, faculty, and agencies involved in the production of the output and shall acknowledge the contribution of said individuals or agencies which they represent.
  2. All reports arising from the activities undertaken under the MS CaRE program shall acknowledge all the engaged students and faculty.
  3. Authorship in any publication or IEC materials arising from course requirements or projects involving graduate students and faculty shall accurately reflect the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals following the Department of Biology Guidelines on Authorship. Minor contributions to the research or the writing for publications are only to be acknowledged appropriately, such as in the footnote or acknowledgment section of the report.

 

On Confidentiality

The students and faculty-in-charge of the MS CaRE program mutually agree to hold and secure any Confidential Information in strict confidence. Under the terms of confidentiality, all engaged individuals agree that any such information will be treated with utmost confidentiality with reasonable diligence to protect such information and shall not disclose such information without the written consent of those involved.

For purposes, hereof, “Confidential Information” refers to information, in any form, which the Disclosing Party considers secret, private, privileged, classified, or proprietary, including but not limited to written, oral, visual, audio information, or those produced by electronic media or through any other means.

Students conducting thesis- or coursework-related field research must strictly adhere to regulatory and ethical guidelines prior to data or sample collection. Depending on the nature and scope of the fieldwork, the following permits and clearances must be secured:
  • Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (NCIP Clearance) - for studies conducted within and among indigenous communities
  • Gratuitous Permit (DENR) - for studies that requires collection of wildlife (plant and animal) specimens
  • IACUC Clearance - for studies that involves animal handling
  • Research Ethics Clearance - for studies involving human and animal subjects
To qualify for authorship on any publication resulting from graduate research activities (e.g., case studies, thesis), students, faculty, and other collaborators must fulfill at least two of the following major components of intellectual contribution:
  1. Conceptualization and design of study
  2. Experimentation, data gathering, and analyses
  3. Data interpretation and manuscript write-up

Providing materials, routine laboratory assistance, or minor administrative support alone does not warrant authorship credit. Such contributions can instead be acknowledged in the manuscript. The order of listed authors on a publication reflects the relative magnitude of each individual’s contribution to the project. The first author position is typically reserved for the primary contributor who led the execution of the study and the drafting of the manuscript (e.g., graduate student). Conversely, the last position in the authorship sequence (i.e., senior author) is generally designated for the principal adviser/mentor overseeing the research. The corresponding author is either the primary or the senior author. In the event of authorship disputes, co-authors should first attempt to resolve the matter internally. If an agreement cannot be reached, the issue may be elevated  to the Department Chair, presented to the Department faculty, or referred to the College Executive Board for formal resolution.