When the “Guidelines on the procedure in the event of suspected deviations from good research practice” were introduced, it was also decided to follow up the guidelines and the handling of any cases arising.
That follow-up has now been completed and has led to the Vice-Chancellor deciding on a revision of the Guidelines. In short, the revision means the following.
Definition of “deviation from good research practice”
When the Guidelines were drafted, there was no general definition of the term “deviations from good research practice”. However, a definition has crystallized at the country's universities, a definition which is now included in the revision of the University’s Guidelines: “Deviations from good research practice means phenomena that risk damaging or damage the integrity of the research process, the research or researchers and which are carried out with intent or gross negligence in the planning, execution or reporting of research.”
Changed procedures
In connection with feedback from how a research misconduct case was handled in 2020, it was discovered that there were shortcomings in the University’s internal handling of the case. The Guidelines have therefore been updated as follows:
- The chair of the University’s Board for Investigation of Misconduct in Research and the Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor on Good Research Practice have been tasked with reporting to the Vice-Chancellor on the matter of steps taken when research misconduct and other deviations from good research practice are established, with the participation of the Head of the affected department.
- The University’s Board for Investigation of Misconduct in Research has been given the responsibility for reporting to the National Board for Assessment of Research Misconduct.