Good Scientific Practice

800924

Generic Skills for PhD Programmes

Winter term 2022

Albrecht Becker
Florian Steiner

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Instructors

Albrecht Becker
Phone: +43 512 507 71410
albrecht.becker@uibk.ac.at
Office hours: by appointment

Florian Steiner
Phone: +43 512 507 51752
florian.m.steiner@uibk.ac.at
Office hours: by appointment

Administrative Support
Bettina Jäkel Phone: +43 512 507 71412
Bettina.jaekel@uibk.ac.at Fax: +43 512 507 71598
Office: o-4.21

Course overview

“Research is the quest for knowledge obtained through systematic study and thinking, observa-
tion and experimentation” (ALLEA, 2017, p. 3). As such, scientific knowledge differs from
everyday knowledge as it is based in systematic evidence, aims at understanding and/or ex-
plaining the phenomena observed, and claims significance beyond the immediate case or ob-
servation at hand. Moreover, research is performed by a community of researchers far beyond
personal networks of individual researchers and direct interaction between them. Therefore, it
is helpful to agree on standards of good scientific practice to secure proper research procedures
and create trust into research results as well as in other researchers’ behaviour.

There is, however, growing evidence of frequent violations of standards of good scientific prac-
tice. Such violations – for example the fabrication or falsification of data, the misrepresentation
of results, plagiarism – may occur due to lack of knowledge, but seems to be also often moti-
vated by career concerns in an environment more and more characterised by a dominating pub-
good scientific practice. becker & steiner. 2022w. 3

lish-or-perish (or funding-or-famine) culture. Scientific misconduct or questionable research

practices undermine the basis of research. While this has been problematic for some years now
in a societal climate where science is encountering a crisis of credibility and trust and populist
voices bluntly denying scientific evidence have gained influence, this has become even more
significant today as researchers experience a new level of visibility, scrutiny, and critique in the
context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doing a PhD means being a junior researcher. The issue of good scientific practice should thus
be of major relevance for you. First, as standards of good scientific practice are the foundation
of the human endeavour of science you should know them. Second, as junior researchers you
may also be specifically vulnerable to the temptation of questionable research practices, be it
due to performance pressure or the influence of senior academics. Therefore, this course will
deal with the standards of good scientific practice in a comprehensive way. We will not only
discuss issues of immediate research practice, such as the notorious FFP (fabrication, falsifica-
tion, plagiarism), questionable research practices (QRPs), authorship, and data management,
but also procedures to deal with scientific misconduct from the perspective of being involved
or observing, and with the relation to supervisors.

Course organisation

The course comprises a mix of short inputs by the lecturers, breakout groups as well as virtual
plenary discussions, role plays, and exercises. Your previous experiences and your specific
disciplines’ conventions regarding issues around good scientific practice will have a place in
this course.

Assessment

Successful participation in the course requires regular active participation as well as writing a
reflective paper of max. 3,000 words. The pass grade will be “participated with success”.
good scientific practice. becker & steiner. 2022w. 4

Course schedule

Friday, 11.11.2022, 09:00 – 16:00, SR 14 (Sowi Building)

Course introduction

The ethos of science

Principles of good scientific practice

Case study: misconduct?

Authorship

Friday, 18.11.2022, 09:00 – 16:00, SR 14 (Sowi Building)

Questionable research practices

Procedures for handling misconduct at University of Innsbruck (Dr. Robert Rebitsch)

Supervisory relationship

Course closing

Selected literature

All European Academies (2017). The European code of conduct for research integrity (revised
ed.). Berlin: All European Academies.
Austrian Agency for Research Integrity (2015). Guidelines for good scientific practice. Vienna:
Austrian Agency for Research Integrity.
Merton, R. K. (1968). Science and democratic social structure. In R. K. Merton (Ed.), Social
theory and social structure (1968 enlarged ed., pp. 604-615). New York: The Free Press.
Singapore Statement on Research Integrity. (2010). Retrieved from https://wcrif.org/statement;
accessed 29.10.2021.