FINNISH ADVISORY BOARD ON
RESEARCH INTEGRITY (TENK)
Responsible conduct of research and
procedures for handling allegations of
misconduct in Finland
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
FINNISH ADVISORY BOARD ON
RESEARCH INTEGRITY (TENK)
• Founded 1991
• Appointed by the Ministry of Education and
Culture in Finland for three year terms
• Current term 1.2.2013 - 31.1.2016
• Office situated independently at the
Federation of the Finnish Learned Societies,
Helsinki
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
FUNCTIONS (Decree 1347/1991)
1. makes proposals and issues statements to
governmental authorities on legislative and other
matters concerning research ethics
2. acts as an expert body working towards the
resolution of ethical issues relating to research
3. takes initiative in advancing research ethics and
promotes discussion concerning research ethics
4. monitors international developments in the field
and takes actively part in international
cooperation
5. informs the public about research ethics
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
FINNISH GUIDELINES
• First national guidelines of Finland for the
prevention, handling and investigation of misconduct
and fraud in scientific research were published in
1994
• “Good scientific practice and procedures for handling
misconduct and fraud in science” (2002)
• ”A template for a researcher´s curriculum vitae”
(2012)
• ”Responsible conduct of research and procedures for
handling allegations of misconduct in Finland” (2012)
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
VOLUNTARY COMMITMENT
- Finnish guidelines provide researchers with a model
for the responsible conduct of research.
- The effectiveness of these guidelines is based on
a voluntary commitment by the research
community to adhere to them, and to increase
awareness of the principles of research integrity.
- These guidelines apply to all academic disciplines in
Finland, and a list of the organisations committed to
these guidelines can be found on the TENK´s
website.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF
RESEARCH 1
1. The research follows the principles that are endorsed
by the research community, that is, integrity,
meticulousness, and accuracy in conducting
research, and in recording, presenting, and evaluating
the research results.
2. The methods applied for data acquisition as well as
for research and evaluation, conform to scientific
criteria and are ethically sustainable. When publishing
the research results, the results are communicated
in an open and responsible fashion that is intrinsic to
the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
OF RESEARCH 2
3. The researcher takes due account of the work and
achievements of other researchers by respecting their
work, citing their publications appropriately, and by
giving their achievements the credit and weight they
deserve in carrying out the researcher’s own
research and publishing its results.
4. The researcher complies with the standards set for
scientific knowledge in planning and conducting the
research, in reporting the research results and in
recording the data obtained during the research.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
OF RESEARCH 3
5. The necessary research permits have been acquired and
the preliminary ethical review that is required for certain
fields of research has been conducted.
6. Before beginning the research or recruiting the
researchers, all parties within the research project or team
(the employer, the principal investigator, and the team
members) agree on the researchers’ rights,
responsibilities, and obligations, principles concerning
authorship, and questions concerning archiving and
accessing the data.
These agreements may be further specified during the
course of the research.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
OF RESEARCH 4
7. Sources of financing, conflicts of interest or other
commitments relevant to the conduct of research are
announced to all members of the research project
and reported when publishing the research results.
8. Researchers refrain from all research-related
evaluation and decision-making situations, when
there is reason to suspect a conflict of interest.
9. The research organisation adheres to good personnel
and financial administration practices and takes into
account the data protection legislation.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
VIOLATIONS OF THE RESPONSIBLE
CONDUCT OF RESEARCH
1. Research misconduct
2. Disregard for the responsible conduct of
research
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
RESEARCH MISCONDUCT
•
•
•
•
Fabrication
Falsification (misrepresentation)
Plagiarism
Misappropriation
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
FABRICATION
Fabrication refers to reporting invented
observations to the research community. In
other words, the fabricated observations have
not been made by using the methods as
claimed in the research report. Fabrication
also means presenting invented results in a
research report.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
FALSIFICATION
(MISREPRESENTATION )
Falsification (misrepresentation) refers to
modifying and presenting original observations
deliberately so that the results based on those
observations are distorted. The falsification of
results refers to the unfounded modification or
selection of research results. Falsification also
refers to the omission of results or information
that are essential for the conclusions.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism, or unacknowledged borrowing,
refers to representing another person’s
material as one’s own without appropriate
references. This includes research plans,
manuscripts, articles, other texts or parts of
them, visual materials, or translations.
Plagiarism includes direct copying as well as
adapted copying.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
MISAPPROPRIATION
Misappropriation refers to the unlawful
presentation of another person’s result, idea,
plan, observation or data as one’s own
research.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
DISREGARD FOR THE
RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF
RESEARCH
• denigrating the role of other researchers in
publications, such as neglecting to mention them
• reporting research results and methods in a careless
manner
• inadequate record-keeping and storage of results and
research data
• Self-plagiarism (publishing the same research results
multiple times ostensibly as new and novel results)
• misleading the research community in other ways
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
OTHER IRRESPONSIBLE
PRACTISES 1
• manipulating authorship, for example, by including
in the list of authors persons who have not
participated in the research, or by taking credit for
work produced by what is referred to as ghost
authors
• exaggerating one’s own scientific and scholarly
achievements, for example, in a CV or its
translation, in a list of publications, or on one’s
homepage
• expanding the bibliography of a study to artificially
increase the number of citations
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
OTHER IRRESPONSIBLE
PRACTISES 2
• delaying the work of another researcher, for
example, through refereed peer reviewing
• maliciously accusing a researcher of RCR violations
• hampering inappropriately the work of another
researcher
• misleading the general public by publicly
presenting deceptive or distorted information
concerning one’s own research results or the
scientific importance or applicability of those results
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
FINNISH PROCEDURE
• allegation of a violation of good scientific practice is
handled at the organization in which the suspect
research has primarily been conducted
• most relevant to legal protection in the process are:
– fairness and impartiality
– the hearing of all parties concerned
– a speedy process
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
FINNISH PROCEDURE
The investigation procedure for alleged violations of
the responsible conduct of research involves three
steps:
1. a written notification
2. a preliminary inquiry
3. the investigation proper
A suspect or a complainant dissatisfied with
the procedure used, the inquiry, the investigation
or the final report can request TENK to give its
opinion.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
THE PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING
ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT IN FINLAND
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
THE PROCESS OF ISSUING
STATEMENTS BY TENK
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
PERSONS INVOLVED IN AN INQUIRY 1/3
• the person suspected of a violation
• the person alleging a violation (the complainant)
• the "victim" of a violation (who can also be the
complainant)
• the person who has received or conveyed a
report of a violation
• the head of the research organization
responsible for conducting an enquiry, such as
the rector of a university, who is responsible for
making decisions and covering the costs of the
inquiry process
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
PERSONS INVOLVED IN AN INQUIRY 2/3
• the person who is responsible for preparing the
matter, such as a university lawyer
• the person who is responsible for conducting a
preliminary investigation
• the organization's ethical board (if one exists)
• the members of a board of inquiry, at least one of
whom must come from outside the organization
in question
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
PERSONS INVOLVED IN AN INQUIRY 3/3
• other experts
• other interested parties
• the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
TENK, which must be informed of the inquiry
• any body responsible for imposing sanctions, such as
a university department.
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE
•
•
•
•
the person suspected of a violation
the complainant
the alleged violation
the study in question (under way, completed or
published)
• the publication channel or how the violation
came to light
• the organization conducting the inquiry
• the Finnish Advisory Board on Research
Integrity TENK
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
TENK CAN ASK
A RESERCH ORGANISATION
FOR AN EXPLANATION IF
• doing so is in the public interest
• attention has been drawn to an alleged
violation, for example in the media
• an anonymous complaint has been made
• a decision made by a research organization
appears faulty or raises questions, even if a
statement has not been requested
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity
CONTACT DETAILS
Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity,
TENK
Secretary General Sanna Kaisa Spoof
Snellmaninkatu 13, FI-00170 Helsinki, Finland
e-mail: tenk@tsv.fi
www.tenk.fi
Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta | Forskningsetiska delegationen | Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity