The Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SOURCE), available online through the National Center of Professional and Research Ethics (NCPRE), provides empirical data for assessing institutional climate and knowledge about responsible research practices. The confidential survey contains 28 items (5 point Likert scales) plus basic classification information about respondents (rank, departmental affiliation, type of highest degree) and takes respondents about 10-15 minutes to complete.

The survey is designed to assess organizational members’ perceptions of their organizational environments for responsible research practices both in general organizational settings and in specific working groups or divisions. The survey’€™s 28 items comprise seven sub-scales, providing an empirical measure of organizational research climate. The NCPRE analysis of the confidential survey submissions will support institutions engaged in organizational change efforts to measure their efficacy over time.

The instrument was developed and validated by Thrush, Martinson and Wells in part through collaboration with the Council of Graduate Schools in a pilot with five institutions. It was further validated in a project with funding from the DHHS Office of Research Integrity involving 40 institutions. The SOURCE measures of organizational climate correlate with self-reported research-related behavior of individuals at both the department level and individual level (Crain, Martinson & Thrush 2012).