Ngā tikanga matatika o te rangahau Research ethics

At Victoria University of Wellington, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethics and integrity in all our research.

Our staff and students follow the highest ethical principles and professional standards to ensure research is accurate, reliable, and trustworthy across every discipline.

We undertake a wide range of research, from studies involving human participants to work with human-derived tissue and animals. To support this, we provide guidance and resources to help researchers meet the highest scientific and ethical expectations.

All researchers at the University must comply with our policies and statutes, as well as the relevant regulatory codes required under New Zealand law.

Research and human ethics

Our researchers work with the Human Ethics Committee to ensure they follow responsible and robust processes when conducting any research involving people, their data, or tissue. The University promotes a collaborative approach to understanding and developing best practice in research ethics.

Read more about human ethics in research at Victoria University of Wellington.

Research and animal ethics

Victoria University of Wellington is committed to a responsible approach to research practices and operates under the University’s Code of Ethical Conduct for the use of Live Animals for Teaching and Research.

As part of this code, the University has an Animal Ethics Committee with a membership approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Any research involving animals at the University, or in other institutions operating under our code, must be approved and monitored by the Animal Ethics Committee.

Read more about animal ethics in research at Victoria University of Wellington.

Hōkai—ethics management system

Visit Hōkai ethics management for information about the system and how to access Hōkai.

View the Hōkai quick guide or the Nuku course for a step-by-step guide to using the new system.

University staff and postgraduate thesis students can access Hōkai using University Single Sign On. If you have not accessed Hōkai or our previous ethics system, ResearchMaster, you will be asked to register your account.

If you do not have a University Staff account you will need to request access. Visit Hōkai ethics management for more information.

Go to Hōkai

Research integrity

Research integrity is embodied by good research practice which encompasses the attitudes and behaviours that foster trust and confidence in research. We expect all our researchers to undertake responsible research conduct and fulfil their obligations under our Responsible Research Policy

The Responsible Research Policy underpins good conduct and good practice of research for individual researchers and the University as a whole. It sets out the principles, behaviours and expectations around conducting, managing and administering responsible research at the University.

Our policy draws from the 2020 Research Charter for Aotearoa New Zealand developed by the Royal Society Te Apārangi. The Charter draws from the 2010 Singapore Statement which set out four initial principles of honesty, accountability, professional courtesy and fairness, and good stewardship, along with 14 responsibilities for researchers and research organisations. The Statement was developed through global collaboration at the second World Conferences on Research Integrity as a first attempt to produce a common set of global values and principles for good research practice. An additional two principles, transparency and clarity, were added in 2019.

These principles have since been incorporated into other codes internationally, including the Australian Code (2018), the UK Research Integrity Office Code (2023), the European Code (2023) and the APEC Guiding Principles (2022). The Royal Society Te Apārangi also has a Code of Professional Standards and Ethics that supports its Members to follow exemplary ethical behaviour and world-class research and scholarly practices.

Recognising authorship

Properly recognising authorship is essential for maintaining research integrity, transparency, kaitiakitanga, and fairness in the academic community. More information, resources and guidance can be found on our recognition of authorship page.