Research Ethics and Integrity
Doing research can pose ethical dilemmas and integrity challenges. For instance, how to conduct responsible research? All researchers at the IT University are expected to:
- be familiar with (and follow) the research integrity guidelines described in this section
- in certain instances (for example when applying for external research funding requiring ethical approval), ensure that ethical requirements of their research are approved by the Pro-rector. The Pro-rector may choose to consult the Research Ethics Committee during the approval phase.
Researchers who are unsure how to ensure compliance with the integrity guidelines are advised to consult the Research Ethics Committee.
Danish Guidelines
The main document providing guidance is "The Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity" from 2014. This national code identifies three main principles pervading all phases of conducting research, which have to do with honesty, transparency and accountability. Next to these general principles, the code identifies six phases in conducting research - from the planning phase to the dissemination of results - in which it is important to adhere to particular sets of research integrity guidelines:
- Research planning and conduct
- Data management
- Publication and communication
- Authorship
- Collaborative research
- Conflicts of interest
The guidelines in the Danish Code cover all research areas and all research organisations in Denmark. However, there are significant differences and traditions in different research fields and not all parts of the code of conduct are equally relevant for all fields. It is up to each research organisation to adopt the guidelines and supplement them with a local implementation that reflects the research traditions in particular areas of research.