The Horizon EU Project BEYOND BAD APPLES is a multinational effort of fourteen universities and two research integrity offices (Ofis and TENK) around Europe, as well as the company Trilateral Research. The project collaborates closely with ENRIO – the  European network of research integrity offices.

The BEYOND BAD APPLES project is coordinated by the University of Oslo, with project lead professor Rosemarie de La Cruz Bernabe. The project partners collaborate in eight Work Packages towards a common goal of advancing Research Integrity practices on levels that span from the individual researcher to multi-national systems. The project utilises methods such as literature review and public consultation and develops tools for tackling research misconduct and better training.

Through these efforts, the project constantly produces novel publications and strives to disseminate gathered knowledge on Research Ethics and Research Integrity (RE/RI). Ultimately, the project aims to drive a systematic change in focus from “bad apples” –  a type of understanding of research misconduct as a problem stemming from unethical action of individual researchers – and moving towards a more holistic approach emphasizing structural factors.

On 30 September 2024, an online event took place centered around the Policy Brief Addressing the Socio-Economic Consequences of Research Misconduct (Rodrigues & Pizzolato 2024). This policy brief examines how unethical research practices extend beyond academia, impacting trust in scientific institutions, economic stability, and social welfare. Its key highlights included:

1. Identifying the significant socio-economic impacts of research misconduct and questionable research practices on researchers, institutions, and broader society.
2. Introduction of actionable recommendations for policy development and future research.
3. An updated framework to support RE/RI through education, training, and institutional accountability. 

Insights from the policy brief have been collected in the open access article Insights on the Socio-Economic Impacts of Research Misconduct (doi: 10.53116/pgaflr.7721).

The project structure

Work Package 1 (WP1) of the BEYOND BAD APPLES project has focused on building an understanding of state-of-the-art studies on RE/RI. The WP has achieved this goal by constructing a literature review on Research Misconduct (RM) and promotion of RE/RI. They have also conducted analyses on Questionable Research Practices, the work of which has fed into other Work Packages. The study has focused on the key areas of early-career researchers and supervisors in the most vulnerable positions in relation to RM.

Work Package 2 (WP2) of the BEYOND BAD APPLES project conducted a bottom-up, solution-oriented public consultation to gather insights on RE/RI. This initiative focused on identifying needs, knowledge gaps, perspectives, and real-life experiences related to research misconduct and evaluating the efficacy of current RE/RI interventions. A survey from September 2023 to March 2024 enabled participants to share context-specific insights after self-identifying their roles. Key findings of the public consultation revealed common challenges in RE/RI governance regardless of context. A critical gap identified is the lack of mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of RE/RI training, policies, and implementation. The results of this consultation will inform the co-creation of a series of legacy documents that aim to carry BEYOND BAD APPLES’s work through the 2030s. These include a best-practice manual, supplemental guidelines, and a roadmap for advancing RE/RI governance. You can find the report on the public consultation at https://zenodo.org/records/13906446.

Resources for trainers and educators

The BEYOND BAD APPLES project is set to publish a comprehensive Trainer Guide, offering educators a robust resource to promote integrity and ethical behaviour in research. This guide builds on training materials from a prior EU-funded project, VIRT2UE while introducing new content informed by BEYOND BAD APPLES’s findings, particularly on underexplored topics like mentoring, supervision, and leadership. Designed to teach responsible conduct of research (RCR), the guide provides practical tools, strategies, and adaptable resources to engage researchers across all career stages.

The guide will emphasise critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and accountability, with materials tailored for two target groups. For senior researchers and managers, it focuses on responsible mentoring, supervision, and leadership. It employs a gamification approach for junior and early-career researchers to address key ethical issues identified in BEYOND BAD APPLES’s earlier phases. The Trainer Guide aims to foster a deep understanding of ethical challenges throughout the research process, equipping trainers to design impactful sessions for diverse audiences, from students to seasoned professionals.

The University of Helsinki hosted the Second General Assembly of the BEYOND BAD APPLES project on 8–9 January 2025. WP4’s Erika Löfström and Anu Tammeleht presented training material aimed at RE/RI training for supervisors and early career researchers, which the group developed. This material is now in piloting stage. This included a poster for a scenario-based exercise, which asked the participants to envision principles for RE/RI leadership so that the best possible outcomes would be achieved.

The General Assembly also provided previews of scientific advances in RE/RI. Daniele Fanelli presented a new definition and a theory of Questionable Research Practices developed by him and the WP3 research group at the University of Tartu.

More information

Keep an eye on our website and LinkedIn page for up-to-date information on the Trainer Guide and other resources and activities, as well as on our YouTube channel. BEYOND BAD APPLES is on the Embassy of Good Science, a wiki where the project outcomes will be shared for wider use and adaptation, and you can also access our publications in Zenodo.

Top image by the BEYOND BAD APPLES project.