The Research Environment Norm Inventory (RENI): A Study of Integrity in Research Administrative Systems

Abstract

University research administrators have been generally ignored in basic studies of research integrity. Hensley (1986) noted that research administrators are “essential…to the achievement of the specific missions of postsecondary institutions… and to science and the academic infrastructure” (p. 47, 48). The following study sought to extend the scope of research on research integrity to research administrative structures with a new instrument called the Research Environment Norm Inventory or RENI. University research administrators and their professional association were targeted for data collection. Evidence suggested that research administration in the United States supports integrity in the research environment through: (1) respect for community; (2) respect for institutional boundaries; (3) professionalism; (4) respect for authority structures; (5) sensitivity to system conflicts. The study suggested that integrity structures are dictated largely by the institutional settings and environments (Meyer and Rowan, 2006).

Keywords:

• norms
• ethics
• integrity
• professionalism
• new institutionalism
• institutional theory
• organizations