The Centre for Genome Engineering and Maintenance (CenGEM) endorses the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and is committed to responsible research assessment.
We recognise that the quality, significance, and contribution of research cannot be captured by a single journal-based metric. Decisions about people, research, and resources should be informed by a broad, transparent, and context-sensitive consideration of research contributions.
Our commitment
In our activities, we will work to:
- Assess research on its intrinsic quality, originality, rigour, and relevance, rather than on the journal or publisher in which it appears.
- Avoid using journal-based metrics, including journal impact factors, as a proxy for the quality of an individual researcher or research output.
- Recognise a broad range of valuable contributions, including research outputs, data, software, methods, teaching, mentoring, leadership, public engagement, and service to the research community.
- Use appropriate qualitative and quantitative evidence, and make the criteria for assessment clear wherever possible.
- Promote fair, inclusive, and responsible practices in recruitment, progression, recognition, and research collaboration.
Putting responsible assessment into practice
CenGEM will encourage researchers, reviewers, and decision-makers in our community to consider the content and contribution of research directly. We will review and develop our local practices as the centre grows, drawing on DORA and the wider responsible research assessment community.
Authorship and publication practice
CenGEM supports the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals as a guide to fair and transparent publication practice.
We expect researchers to work together to:
- Discuss authorship and contributorship early in a project, and review these arrangements as the work develops.
- Apply the ICMJE authorship criteria fairly, ensuring that authors have made substantive intellectual contributions, approve the final version, and accept accountability for the work.
- Recognise contributors who do not meet authorship criteria appropriately and transparently, with their permission where required.
- Disclose relevant financial and non-financial relationships, activities, and sources of support so that readers can assess potential competing interests.
- Use artificial intelligence-assisted technologies responsibly: disclose material use where relevant, check outputs carefully, and retain human responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and appropriate attribution of submitted work.
Further information
Read the full DORA declaration and learn more about DORA's work on responsible research assessment. The current ICMJE Recommendations provide further guidance on authorship, disclosures, peer review, and publication.