Mind the GAP (Good Academic Practices) tool

In the context of responsible research, Mind the GAP (Good Academic Practices) is a novel online training tool on research integrity aimed at PhD students and more experienced researchers, jointly developed by the five universities in Flanders, Belgium.

The key components of the practice are its 4 main modules. In addition to that, the training tool also provides exercises (‘test your mind for GAPs’) that will help the participant understand and practice certain principles.

In this tool you can find:

Welcome

• Module 1: Introduction: research integrity in general
• Module 2: Supervision and Mentoring: focus on the relationship between PhD researchers and their supervisors and mentors
• Module 3: Good Academic Practices: most recommended good academic research practices when it comes to:
  • Research design and conduct
  • Research Data Management (RDM)
  • Reporting results
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Science communication
  • Research(er) evaluation and assessment
• Module 4: Violations of Research Integrity: possible violations of research integrity and what to do when misconduct happens.
• Supplementary - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Supplementary - Ethics rules and regulations
• Test your mind for GAPs

The Mind the GAP Tool can be found on Blackboard under 'Organizations'.

Competences

An important part of preparing for any further professional step is becoming (more) aware of the competences you have developed and/or want to develop. In the current workshop, the following competences from the UHasselt competency overview are actively dealt with:

• personal effectiveness:
  • ethics & (research) integrity
  • responsibility
• intellectual competences:
  • critical judgment
• academic research competences:
  • information management

For whom?

• Researchers (PhD students, postdocs, …) & supervisors working for one of the five Flemish universities

When and where?

• Permanently accessible
• Online

Acknowledged as?

After completing the online modules and passing the final test, you can ask for acknowledgement by adding it to your portfolio and sending a screenshot of your final score OR a copy of your certificate to dsrequirements@uhasselt.be.

• DS HLS: category 'scientific skills' – course on ethics & research integrity
• DS ST: category 'ethics & research integrity' – info session/course/workshop about ethics & research integrity or equivalent
• DS BSH: category ‘ethics & integrity’ – session on (research) ethics (and/or integrity)

In case you experience technical issues with the tool, you may contact Stephanie Ruysschaert (RRI@uhasselt.be).