Poornaprajna Institute of Management (PIM) strives for high quality, scientific, systematic, value-oriented research which would empower its students and teachers with the ability to contribute and achieve ultimate societal welfare and uphold the dignity of human beings. The researchers at PIM are bound to observe the following principles of research in the execution of their research work. They are: Truthfulness: Instead of confirming the already formed opinion, the researchers at PIM aim at discovering the truth which will be confirmed and verified by the peers. Being truthful requires the researchers at PIM to be honest and transparent in all aspects of research and publication, methods used for collecting the data. The result will be represented accurately without any over or understatement of facts but will be based on evidence and observations.
- Accountability: Researchers at PIM must take responsibility for their actions while conducting research. They have a moral and financial responsibility while taking up research and are answerable to society which is an important stakeholder. They are trusted to guide and educate individuals and are entrusted with the responsibility of serving as examples of ethical behaviour for their students and society.
- Prevention and Reduction of Harm: Researchers at PIM have a duty to safeguard society against any excess risk by taking steps to forecast, visualize, acknowledge, prevent and minimize harmful investigation.  Research and pursuit of knowledge should not be at the expense of participant’s personal, social and cultural values.
- Engage with the policymakers:Â Researchers go beyond developing solutions and they should be ethically responsible by engaging with the various institutional mechanism responsible for policy making through the implementation of the research findings.
- Professionalism: Researchers should strive for scientific and academic professionalism in research. They should never use their positions or knowledge for personal gains.
Formulation and Composition of the ethics committee
PIM has an ethics committee to provide an ethical environment within which a teacher and a student can seek to further the boundaries of human knowledge. Ethics committee is formulated by the academic council upon nomination by the Principal and approval by the governing council of PIM. The committee shall be comprised of five key members. They are:
- The Director / Principal of the institution
- Two senior research personnel of the region
- Two senior faculty members of the institution
Currently, the Research cell has five members whose names are as follows:
- Dr. Bharath V – The Director/Principal of PIM
- Dr. Krishna Kothai –Coordinator, PCRD
- Dr.Bharathi Karanth – Associate Professor, PIM
- Dr..Naveen Kumar KR – Associate Professor, PIM
The constitution of the ethics committee would be valid for a period of five years. In case of any conflict of interest, the principal with the approval of the Governing Council shall replace the committee members by nomination.
Roles and Responsibilities of Ethics Committee in PIM
- To ensure the implementation of principles of research in researches carried on by the students and faculty members of the institution.
- To promote value-based research work with an agenda to contribute to societal welfare
- To advise IQAC in organizing research-related programmes which would contribute to research-oriented mind-set among the students and faculty members of the institute.
- To prevent misconduct in research activities and implementation of the disciplinary measures.
- To provide guidance and support to research scholars in respect of teaching, research and other academic activities.
Research Role and Responsibilities:
Faculty’s role in research at PIM: Research is the significant part of PIM’s mission and participation in research is mandatory for the faculty members of the institution along with their teaching role. Research oriented faculty members participate actively in generating internal and external monetary support to underwrite their research projects. Faculty rewards are based on the extent to which they contribute to their respective disciplines in the form of articles and books, disseminating their research work to external audiences or stakeholders of the society. Teaching, guiding and carrying on research is mandatory at the institute.
Student’s role in research at PIM: Students are required to develop a research mind-set and should develop research insight into societal problems. They should take up research by observing the PIM’s principles of research as per the guidance of the faculty members and should get sensitized towards the societal issues. Along with the accumulation of theoretical knowledge, the students are encouraged to come out with solution-oriented research works.
Research Misconduct and Disciplinary Actions
Research misconduct contains fabrication, falsification or plagiarism in research works, reckless disregard for research funds, failure in supervision, lapses in observing the principles of research of the institution.
The disciplinary actions at PIM involve the following:
- Inquiry: It involves preliminary information gathering or fact-finding to identify whether the allegation has any substance. The inquiry will be conducted by the ethical committee formulated with the Director as its head.
- Formal investigation: The members of the ethical committee will have to inform the governing council of PIM about the misconduct and a formal investigation into the misconduct should be made.
- Punitive measures include the following:
In case of minor misconduct, a warning may be issued, or a letter of apology can be sought from the guilty
In the case of major misconduct, the student may be asked to
- Resubmit the assignment or take up a fresh project work
- Penalise with a fine deemed to be justifiable by the head of the ethics committee.
In the case of the misconduct by the faculty, the following punitive measures may be adopted:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- Suspension of the faculty from research projects funded by external funding agencies
- Deduction from the salary any financial loss caused to the institute
The right to interpret the provisions of the ethics committee rests on the Governing Council of the institution.