Guidance

Government Social Research Code

Updated 26 October 2023

1. Context

Government Social Research (GSR) is the professional membership organisation for social research in government. The eligibility criteria and process for joining GSR are set out in the Membership and Eligibility Guidance.

GSR puts people- and society-centred research, advice, and design at the heart of government decision-making. GSR does this through impactful and influential input, engagement and collaboration.

GSR aims to proactively contribute and promote the relevance and use of social and behavioural science in policy, legislative, delivery and spending decisions.

2. Purpose

The GSR Code is an addendum to the Civil Service Code. Like other Civil Servants, as Government Social Researchers, we are bound by the Civil Service Code^{[footnote 1]} and its core values of:

• integrity
• honesty
• objectivity
• impartiality.

The purpose of the GSR Code is to set out the GSR’s additional professional standards of behaviour^{[footnote 2]}.

These standards of behaviour are set out under the same four core Civil Service values and relate to the delivery of high-quality research, evaluation and analysis that are scientifically rigorous, relevant, and valued.

By defining these standards of behaviour, the GSR code:

1. guides our work and behaviour as GSR members
2. demonstrates the GSR’s commitment to transparency and openness
3. provides a framework to ensure that we, GSR members, conduct research and analysis for government that is high-quality, rigorous, relevant, and valued
4. allows devolved administrations, government departments and other government organisations to assess their social research capability and develop plans for improvement.

3. Standards of behaviour

3.1 Integrity

This means putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests.

As Government Social Researchers, we will:

• ensure our practices are consistent with the GSR’s Ethical Assurance for Social and Behavioural Research
• comply with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, where applicable^{[footnote 3]}
• deliver recommendations, where relevant, that are actionable and represent value for money
• be open about research limitations and how these impact the insights and recommendations made
• be transparent about how methods and findings relate to the wider evidence base.

3.2 Honesty

This means being truthful and open. All Civil Servants must set out the facts and relevant issues truthfully and correct any errors as soon as possible.

As Government Social Researchers, we will:

• inform public debate by publishing our work and, wherever possible, the underlying data
• ensure that our published work is openly accessible, clear and concise – in line with the Government Social Research Publication protocol^{[footnote 4]}
• proactively communicate with colleagues across other relevant government professions, including professions in the Government Analysis function, when conducting and promoting research
• establish and maintain relationships with the wider social and behavioural research community to effectively communicate research – for example, by forming links with other government, academic, and commercial organisations.

3.3 Objectivity

This means basing advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence.  

As Government Social Researchers, we will:

• ensure research proposals focus on answering clear, relevant, and researchable questions, and use methodologies appropriate to those questions
• base research designs on methodologies and scientific principles that have broad support within the research community
• maintain professional training to ensure the most up-to-date methods are employed
• deliver the best possible research designs, considering factors such as budget, value added, staff availability, and timescales
• embed robust quality assurance at every stage of research
• continuously review research design
• ensure that conclusions and recommendations are supported by the evidence base.

3.4 Impartiality

This means acting solely according to the evidence and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions.

As Government Social Researchers, we will:

• design research to collect evidence that reflects the range of views, perspectives and behavioural influences of the communities we serve
• seek to ensure that audiences receive a balanced view of the evidence we generate
• challenge assumptions and conclusions that are not clearly supported by the evidence base or that conflict with established theory.

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1. Civil servants working for the Scottish and Welsh Governments, and their agencies, have their own versions of the code. Similar codes apply to the Northern Ireland civil service and the Diplomatic Service. Civil servants working in non-ministerial departments in England, Scotland and Wales are covered by this code. ↩

2. Behaviours are the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job. ↩

3. The Concordat and the associated  Guidance to implement the Concordat to Support Research Integrity within government - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) apply to UK Government Departments, Agencies and Public Laboratories. ↩

4. GSR members in Scotland must follow the Scottish Government Social Research Publication Protocol, or their specific agency protocol where applicable. ↩