Student Research Regulations

Preamble

Students who undertake research at any level of study are required to conduct the research in a manner that conforms with requirements and standards set down by the University and, in many cases, by law.

Students are referred to the Resources on Ethical Conduct in Research and Related Activities, available from the Research & Enterprise Office.

  1. Title
    These are the Student Research Regulations 2008.
  2. Date of effect
    These regulations are effective from 1 January 2009.
  3. Definitions
    In these regulations

plagiarism means presenting as one’s own work the work of another, and includes the copying or paraphrasing of another person’s work in an assessment item without acknowledging it as the other person’s work through full and accurate referencing; it applies to research and to assessment (as defined in the Assessment Regulations 2016) presented through a written, spoken, electronic, broadcasting, visual, performance, or other medium. Plagiarism also includes self-plagiarism which is the use of one’s own work that has been used and/or published in another context without acknowledging the previous work through appropriate referencing
research means an inquiry of an investigative, experimental or critical nature which is driven by a question, hypothesis, or intellectual position capable of rigorous assessment, and the findings of which are open to scrutiny and formal evaluation; it includes any intellectual or creative work published, exhibited, presented, or performed in a written, spoken, electronic, broadcasting, visual, performance, or other medium
student means a student enrolled at the University of Waikato
University means the University of Waikato.

  1. Application
    These regulations apply to research undertaken by a student as an element of a paper or thesis of the University at any level of study.
  2. Ethical conduct in research
    A student engaged in research
    1. must fairly and fully represent results as he or she honestly perceives them, without falsifying data, fabricating data, claiming results where none have been obtained, or fraudulently changing records
    2. must not commit or condone plagiarism
    3. must be scrupulously honest in the ascription of authorship, and must not list authors without their permission or attribute work to others who have not in fact contributed to the research
    4. must conform with professional standards and codes of ethics relevant to the discipline
    5. must exercise integrity and good faith in every aspect of research practice
    6. must comply with the Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Related Activities Regulations when the research involves collecting data about and from people and organisations.
  3. Research or teaching involving the development of low risk genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
    1. A student who intends to use or develop low risk genetically modified organisms (GMOs) must comply with the appropriate ERMA regulations.
    2. Advice on these regulations is available from the Office of Biological Sciences.
  4. Research using live animals
    1. Users of live animals for teaching, research, or the production of biologically active agents have ethical and legal responsibility for the welfare of those animals.
    2. The Animal Ethics Committee is established by the Vice-Chancellor in accordance with the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act 1999, and is responsible for
      1. ensuring that any experimental procedure involving live animals complies with the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and the University’s Code of Ethical Conduct for the Use of Animals for Teaching and Research
      2. initiating investigations into any suspected non-compliance with the Animal Welfare Act 1999 or the University’s Code of Ethical Conduct for the Use of Animals for Teaching and Research
      3. arbitrating in disputes about use of live animals for teaching and research.
    3. A student involved in the use of animals for research must comply with
      1. the University’s Code of Ethical Conduct for the Use of Animals for Teaching and Research, or
      2. any other instruction by the Animal Ethics Committee.
  5. Breaches
    A breach of these regulations is misconduct under the Student Discipline Regulations 2020.