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1. About HIKE

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The Hub for Integrity and Knowledge Exchange (HIKE) is a community forum where subscribing members of the Science Integrity Alliance (SIA) discuss research integrity with experts and peers. All members may post and comment, and SIA also invites specialists from its network to open discussions. Reading the forum is open to subscribing members, SIA contributors and Partners.

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Posts and comments appear immediately. Automated spam screening applies to both, and the moderation team reviews content after publication. Read these guidelines alongside the HIKE Forum Group Rules, in the About section of the forum. Both are subject to the SIA Terms of Use. HIKE is for discussion in depth. For brief announcements, resources and events, use the Integrity Café.

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2. Before You Can Post

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Posting requires a publicly visible SIA account. Accounts created from August 10, 2026 are public by default. Accounts created before that date remain private unless changed, and members with private accounts cannot post or comment. To change this, log in to your SIA account and update your account settings.

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3. Choosing a Topic

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Every post must be filed under a topic. These include research ethics, methodology, data management, open research practices, reproducibility, science communication and responsible conduct of research, among others as the forum grows. If none fits your post, contact editorial@sci-integrity.com.

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4. Writing a Post

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Posts work best when they open a question rather than close one, give enough context for members from other disciplines to follow, and end with something for others to respond to. Length is flexible, and a short, focused post with a clear question often does better than a long one. Write in short paragraphs with a line break between each one, use sub-headings in longer posts in Heading 3 bold, and define specialist terms briefly. To pull out a quote, select the text, click the quote icon, then italicize it.

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Cite sources through embedded links: select the words you are citing, click the link icon, and add the URL. If a post needs a list of references instead, add a numbered list at the foot of the post, in Heading 6.

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5. Commenting

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Strong comments engage with the topic, offer a perspective grounded in experience or evidence, ask a question that advances the conversation, share a relevant resource, or respectfully challenge a point made by another member. A focused contribution of a few sentences is more valuable than a lengthy response covering ground already addressed.

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Some posts are interviews or contributed pieces where the author does not join the discussion. These threads are still open, and comments are addressed to the community rather than to the author.

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Comments can be edited after posting, but the edit history remains visible to everyone who can see the comment. Please check your text before you comment.

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6. Naming Individuals and Institutions

 

Practices, patterns and published cases may be discussed freely. Avoid allegations against named individuals or institutions that have not been established through a completed investigation, a retraction notice, an editorial expression of concern, or another public record you can point to. Where an account involves people who have not consented to being identified, remove the identifying details.

 

 

7. Images

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We strongly recommend a lead image directly below the post title, in a 4:3 aspect ratio, around 1024 x 768 pixels. It gives the post a visual anchor in the feed, and SIA may also use it when announcing the post to its wider network, alongside a short summary rather than the post itself, since HIKE is a subscriber-only forum.

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Images within the post body can sit alongside the text. Click the image, open the Alignment icon, select Right or Left, and check Wrap text.

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State the source beneath the image, in Heading 6 italicized, in the form Image: [source]. Where all images come from the same place, one line at the foot of the post is enough, in the same style: Unless otherwise stated, images in this post were sourced from [source]. Where an image has been edited or adapted, indicate this in the attribution.

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Click the image and open Image Settings. Add alt text to every image for members using screen readers. Turn off Allow Download, which is on by default, unless you want readers to keep the image. Keep Click to Expand, also on by default, for graphs, tables and diagrams.

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8. Linking and Tagging

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To link text, select the words you want to carry the link, click the link icon, then add the URL. The same icon lets you link to another section of the same post. To tag a member, type @ and select the person's name from the list; only current forum participants can be tagged, and tagging notifies them.

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Where your post connects to something SIA has published, link to it from the text. For a formatted highlight box, contact editorial@sci-integrity.com for instructions.

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9. Other Features

The post editor also supports polls, document attachments such as PDFs, Word files and spreadsheets, video and GIF embeds, social media embeds, and divider lines. Polls work well for gauging opinion before or after you set out your own view, and the results often become part of the discussion.

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10. Moderation

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Moderation is not editorial. Removal does not reflect agreement or disagreement with a member's perspective, and dissenting viewpoints are welcome provided they engage constructively. A post or comment may be removed where it is:

• Off-topic: unrelated to the topic it was filed under or to research integrity broadly.

• Promotional, commercial or self-promoting: advertising a product, service, event or organization, or promoting the author's own work without engaging with the topic.

• An undisclosed conflict of interest: referencing a commercial tool or resource the author is connected to, without disclosing that connection.

• Personal criticism: directed at an individual's character, conduct or reputation rather than at ideas.

• Discriminatory or harmful: disrespectful on the basis of identity, background or affiliation.

• Defamatory or legally sensitive: making claims about named individuals or organizations that could create legal risk for SIA or its members.

• A breach of confidentiality: identifying or potentially identifying individuals or institutions in a way that may violate privacy expectations.

• Misinformation: containing factual claims that are demonstrably incorrect or unsupported.

• Duplicate, spam or incoherent: repeated material, unrelated links, or not a meaningful contribution.

• Soliciting external contact: seeking private contact with members or redirecting discussion to external platforms.

• Raising copyright concerns: reproducing substantial text from a third-party source without attribution.

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SIA may also remove content on the wider grounds set out in the Terms of Use. If content is removed, the member receives a notification citing the reason and is welcome to revise and post again. In cases involving defamation, discriminatory language or serious confidentiality concerns, SIA may ask a member not to repost, and repeated breaches may lead to restrictions on posting or removal from the forum.

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To report content, use the three-dot menu on any post or comment. For anything else, including appeals against moderation of your own content, write to contactus@sci-integrity.com.

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11. Use of Your Content

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Posts and comments carry your name and are visible to other members. Under the Terms of Use, content submitted to the Platform may be reused by SIA with attribution, including in REACH and other SIA outputs. If you are sharing something you would not want reused, say so in the post or write to editorial@sci-integrity.com.

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12. Contributing to HIKE

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SIA subscribers do not need an invitation to post. SIA contributors and Partners gain complimentary access to HIKE. Anyone else who wishes to contribute may send an expression of interest, including a proposed topic, to editorial@sci-integrity.com.​​​​​​

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