Online Course “Scientific Integrity”

2. Recommendations for Safeguarding

Scientific Integrity
Claim for Universality

“Scientific work is based on a number of basic

principles that guideline scientists internationally and
independently of their respective discipline.“
[…]
“A central task of the universities is to communicate
these principles to young scientists and students.”
(DFG 2013:13)

DFG 2013
Recommendations to Ensure Good Scientific Practice

• First published in 1998, updated in 2013,

revised fundamentally in 2019

• Reaction to act of scientific misconduct

• Established by international commission of experts

• Goal: culture of scientific integrity as a professional ethics

• Available also in English: Guidelines for Safeguarding Good

Research Practice. Code of Conduct

• In German: Leitlinien zur Sicherung guter wissenschaftlicher

Praxis

DFG 2019
Recommendations to Ensure Good Scientific Practice

19 guidelines, such as

• General principles and professional ethics

• Manage institutions and work units
• Provide persons of trust (ombudspersons)
• Reflect current state research
• Authorship in publications
• Procedures to be adopted if scientific misconduct is suspected

DFG 2019
Position Paper of the German Council of Science and Humanities

• Overview of national and international guidelines

• Progress of implementation in Germany

• Recommendations regarding

• Ability to implement scientific integrity

• Research process and publication practice
• Handling of conflicts
• Evaluation criteria
• Areas of responsibility of the various actors

• Available only in German

Wissenschaftsrat 2015
Position Paper of the German Council of Science and Humanities

Communicate good scientific practice

(n=194 Faculties from German state Universities; multiple answers possible)

100%

80%

60% 57.2%

41.2% 39.7%
40%

19.6%
20%
9.8% 7.7%

0%
Bestandteil
Percentage ofvon Individual decision Teaching unit in Continuing Not known No offer
Fachmodulen
subject modulesim of lecturer doctoral phase education for
BA- und/oder
in BA and/or MA MA- lecturers and
Studium
studies (e.g.(zb.
in In researchers after
Einführungskursen)
introductory PhD
courses)
Transl. Wissenschaftsrat 2015:19
Principles of Good Scientific Practice at RWTH University

Specific RWTH principles

§§ 1 – 10 Principles for good scientific practice

• Work according to lege artis

• Document results and consistently question all results
• Ensure strict honesty with regards to one's own and third parties
contributions
• Avoid and prevent scientific misconduct

§§ 11 – 18 Procedure to be followed if
scientific misconduct is suspected

§§ 19 – 25 Measures to be taken in the

event of scientific misconduct

RWTH 2020
Summary

• A core task of higher education institutions is to communicate the universal basic principles of good
scientific practice to students and young academics

• The Guidelines of the German Research Foundation DFG and the position paper of the Council of
Science and Humanities contain the most relevant rules for maintaining scientific integrity for
researchers in Germany

• RWTH Aachen University itself has laid down certain principles to which the scientists at RWTH must
adhere
References

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (2013) Vorschläge zur Sicherung guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis:

Empfehlungen der Kommission „Selbstkontrolle in der Wissenschaft“, Denkschrift. Weinheim.

English translation available: German Research Foundation (2013) Recommendations of the Commission on Professional Self
Regulation in Science, Memorandum. Weinheim.

• German Research Foundation (DFG) (2019) Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice. Code of
Conduct, online available:
https://www.dfg.de/download/pdf/foerderung/rechtliche_rahmenbedingungen/gute_wissenschaftliche_praxis/kodex
_gwp_en.pdf (Status: 25.06.2020).

• RWTH Aachen (2020) Leitlinien und Verfahren zur Sicherung guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis der Rheinisch-
Westfälischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen. Amtliche Bekanntmachung. Aachen, online unter:
https://www.rwth-aachen.de/global/show_document.asp?id=aaaaaaaaantvavg (Stand 07.01.2021)

• Wissenschaftsrat (2015) Empfehlungen zu wissenschaftlicher Integrität. Positionspapier, online available:

https://www.wissenschaftsrat.de/download/archiv/4609-
15.pdf;jsessionid=7E7D23FDA0F91FCB71AD50023AE213E5.delivery1-master?__blob=publicationFile&v=4
(Status: 01.08.2019).