Good Scientific Practice

Good scientific practice is a prerequisite for research of the highest quality, such as that carried out at our university. The principles of good scientific practice and the handling of scientific misconduct are defined in our statutes. These are based on the following recommendations of the German Research Foundation (DFG). They are supplemented by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, published in 2018.

Key contacts and committees contribute to a culture of research characterised by innovation and integrity. We strongly encourage our researchers to make their research findings accessible worldwide through open access.

A statement from an ethics committee (known as an ‘ethics approval’) is often required by third-party funding bodies or publishing bodies when research involving human subjects, material derived from humans, or identifiable personal data is planned. The ethics approval is a prerequisite for financial support or for the publication of research findings. Members of the university may submit a relevant application to our Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee is chaired by:

The appropriate, responsible and discipline-specific handling of research data is a key component of quality-oriented research. Planning the collection, publication, archiving and re-use of research data in line with specific needs forms part of research data management (RDM). Funding bodies, in particular, are increasingly expecting information on the handling of research data at the application stage. In this context, both legal and ethical aspects must be taken into account to uphold good scientific practice. Helpful websites offering further information, guidance, services and advisory support:

Our university considers it its responsibility to critically reflect on political and social conditions and developments in terms of their impact on educational and learning processes, and to develop forward-looking perspectives. In line with our mission statement, we explore the opportunities and risks presented by digitalisation and other challenges facing modern society, and devise concepts and visions for future teaching and learning. In this context, we regard Open Access as an important publication model for jointly developing forward-looking perspectives with local and international partners. According to the ‘Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities’ of 2003, publications should be freely accessible, downloadable and usable via the internet.

Open Access is therefore of paramount importance to research, comparable to Open Educational Resources (OER) in teaching. We therefore strongly encourage our researchers to make their research findings accessible worldwide via Open Access. This recommendation covers both primary publications in an open-access journal (the so-called ‘Golden Road’) and secondary publications on a repository (the so-called ‘Green Road’).

The ombudspersons act as impartial and qualified points of contact for members and university staff on matters of good academic practice and in cases of suspected academic misconduct. Where possible, they contribute to solution-oriented conflict mediation. The ombudspersons handle enquiries whilst maintaining confidentiality and, where necessary, refer suspected cases of research misconduct to the relevant body, namely the competent Senate Commission of the Karlsruhe University of Education.