How Do I Demonstrate Rigor and Integrity in Self-Study Research?

Why are you asking about gender? Negotiating survey research methods within an industry collaboration

This editorial introduces ABC2: Journal of Architecture, Building, Construction, and Cities as a scholarly response to the escalating complexity of global built environment challenges. Rapid urbanisation, climate change, resource depletion, housing crises, and social inequality demand a departure from fragmented, discipline-specific research approaches. The editorial argues that prevailing academic silos—separating architecture, building science, construction management, and urban studies—limit the capacity of research to address these interconnected issues holistically. ABC2 is positioned as a trans-disciplinary platform designed to bridge these divides by cultivating “knowledge spaces” where theoretical, methodological, and practical perspectives intersect. Drawing on the complementary expertise of its editors-in-chief, the journal foregrounds both human-centred and technology-driven approaches, integrating socio-cultural inquiry with digital innovation. The editorial outlines ABC2’s vision, scope, and ethical commitments, emphasising rigorous peer review, research integrity, and open-access dissemination under a Creative Commons licence. It also introduces the journal’s three article types and highlights its alignment with global sustainability agendas, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The inaugural issue exemplifies this vision through geographically diverse and methodologically plural contributions spanning cities, buildings, construction systems, and architectural experience. Collectively, these articles demonstrate how boundary-crossing research can generate actionable knowledge with real-world relevance. The editorial concludes with a call to action, inviting scholars, practitioners, and policymakers worldwide to contribute to a shared, integrated knowledge base capable of shaping more sustainable, resilient, and equitable built environments.

Methodological rigor and theoretical integration in Traditional Chinese medicine PONV research: critical gaps in blinding validation and pharmacological analysis.

The use of bibliographies in academic research and peer-reviewed journals has been criticised due to evolving higher education dynamics. Critics highlight that bibliographies are often manipulated to exclude or favour certain works, resulting in citation cartels where authors and journals artificially inflate citations. Additionally, institutional policies can be exploited for personal or political gains. Despite these issues, the importance of bibliographies in showcasing the quality and rigour of academic work remains. This study, through a systematic literature review using a deductive thematic synthesis approach, examines the impact of higher educational transformation and institutional policies on bibliography use in peer-reviewed journals. The findings indicate that citation practices significantly influence the social dynamics of academic culture and interdisciplinary collaboration. However, the influence of institutional policies and ideologies on bibliography usage raises concerns about research quality and integrity, particularly regarding the promotion of specific research agendas. To address these challenges, policymakers should prioritise research quality over citation metrics, promoting transparency and accountability in research evaluation. This approach would enable academics to use diverse sources and not limit themselves to a few. Additionally, Higher Education Institutions need to consider researchers’ strategic behaviours and use bibliometric methods to inform, rather than dictate academic progression decisions. This study contributes to ongoing debates by proposing alternative methods to safeguard the integrity of bibliographies and ensure rigorous academic research. Keywords: Bibliography, Citation, Institutional policies, Higher Education institutions, Higher educational transformation, Peer-review.

This chapter explores the role of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in academic research. As AI tools become embedded across the research lifecycle—from idea generation to writing—researchers must weigh their benefits against ethical risks. The chapter focuses on large language models (LLMs), examining their use in translation, literature synthesis, hypothesis development, and editing, while addressing concerns around hallucinations and research integrity. Through workflow mappings, prompt strategies, and real-world examples, it offers practical guidance for using GenAI without compromising critical thinking or scholarly voice. Researchers are urged to maintain transparency, verify outputs, and treat prompting as an intellectual task. While GenAI can enhance productivity and inclusion—particularly for non-native English speakers—it must be used as a scaffold, not a substitute, for rigorous research. The chapter emphasises the importance of human oversight, ethical reflection, and methodological care in navigating this evolving landscape.

The conduct of independent research that makes a significant contribution to knowledge, along with the communication of the research outcomes in a coherent thesis, are the central activities within the PhD. The ways in which doctoral research, and indeed all research, is conducted must be in keeping with the published (normally national) codes of research integrity. This chapter analyses and contrasts the codes of conduct for research in Australia, Europe, the UK and the USA. Common integrity principles, including honesty; integrity, responsibility and accountability; good stewardship; as well as fairness, care and respect for others, are mapped across national policies and analysed. We discuss further integrity codes for research involving human participants. The advice in those codes tends to be oriented towards so-called scientific research ‘objectivity’, and so we present a case study of qualitative research involving human participants, using developmental phenomenography. Notions of objectivity and subjectivity are discussed, and it is argued that objectivity in research involving human participants is a myth, whether the research is qualitative (social science interviews for example) or quantitative (scientific surveys, for example). In the case study, attention to detail with respect to research processes such as conducting a pilot study, the communication of research intentions, sampling, data collection, analysis and reporting of outcomes is stressed in terms of impact on the integrity of the research. The case study demonstrates how research decisions and subsequent actions throughout the research project contribute to matters of research rigour and, thus, research integrity

On behalf of the journal, AGU, and the scientific community, we, the editors of Earth's Future, are delighted to publish the names of the 817 peer reviewers who provided 1,242 reviews for our journal in 2023 (italicized names have contributed three or more reviews). Your diligent efforts to provide timely comments on our submissions have significantly improved the manuscripts and elevated the scientific rigor of future research. As a unique transdisciplinary journal, Earth's Future delves into the state of the planet and its inhabitants, sustainable and resilient societies, the science of the Anthropocene, and predictions of our shared future through research articles, reviews, and commentaries. In the face of observed and anticipated global environmental and climatic changes, the need for high‐quality scientific theories, assessments, and projections about the future of our planet has never been more pressing. To safeguard research integrity in this crucial area, we rely on our reviewers' expertise and selfless cooperation. We extend our heartfelt thanks to each of the individuals listed below for their contributions to our journal and the broader scientific discourse. Your dedication is immensely appreciated.

Recent Publications on Archaeological Ceramic Analyses and their Contributions to the Study of Ancient Pottery Technology