PK: Research Integrity and Publication Ethics: Standards, Regulations, Good Practice

“Research Integrity and Publication Ethics: Standards, Regulations, Good Practice"

Dr. habil. Michael Basseler

Course description

Questions of research and publication ethics have gained attention in the past few years mainly as negative examples, i.e. through cases in which politicians and other public figures lost their doctor’s degrees – and sometimes their jobs– due to plagiarism or other forms of misconduct. In this workshop we will work out what constitutes good scientific practice in the humanities and social sciences. We will discuss what values and principles actually constitute our standards of scientific research, why they are important, and how they can be safeguarded. More particularly, we will focus on the following aspects:

• Research cycle, the process of science

• Codes of Conduct; values, principles, and standards of research integrity

• Authorship, plagiarism and self-plagiarism

• Documentation, data management, and archiving

• Supervision and mentoring

• Regulations at Justus Liebig University for safeguarding good scientific practice

While no preparatory reading is required, you may ponder the following questions in advance:

• What constitutes ‘good scientific practice’ in my academic discipline/field?

• What is misconduct in research, and where is the line between sloppiness and (severe) misconduct?

• What are ‘research data’ in the humanities?

• Who owns the research data that I have collected during my project, and who is responsible for their storage and protection? Who has access to them?

• What could/should I do if I hear about or am involved in a case of misconduct?

While everyone is welcome, the course is mainly designed for PhD candidates in their 2^nd year.