Good Scientific Practice and Procedures for Handling Misconduct and Fraud in Science

The statutory task of the National Advisory Board on Research Ethics (TENK) is to promote discussion on and to disseminate information about research ethics in Finland and to take initiatives concerning research ethics (Decree 1347/1991). To this end, the Board, together with the Finnish research community, has devised guidelines for good scientific practice and for handling misconduct and fraud in science. Although the composition and mandate of the Board are based on law, the effectiveness of the guidelines will depend on the voluntary commitment of the research community to comply with it.

The research ethics guidelines formulated by the Board seek to define good scientific practice and violations of it in multidisciplinary terms. The aim is to promote good scientific practice and prevent research misconduct in all public organisations carrying out research, such as universities, research institutes and polytechnics. The code may also be applied to research and development conducted in cooperation with business enterprises, where appropriate.

Different scientific disciplines have their own sets of ethical norms, which provide more detailed instructions concerning for instance the relationship between the researcher and the object of research. Information about these can be obtained from the National Advisory Board on Health Care Ethics (ETENE), the Advisory Board for Biotechnology, (BTNK) learned societies and professional organisations. Relevant links and contact information.