WS: Michael Basseler: Research and Publication Ethics: Standards, Regulations, Good Practice

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 have 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 the fields of humanities and social sciences?
• 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?

// Dr. habil. Michael Basseler (GCSC)