Scientific Integrity - Online Programme (excl. PhD students)
This Online Programme is held in English
The University of Twente has decided, in line with practices throughout the Netherlands and elsewhere, to provide staff with learning resources to help familiarise themselves with current issues of scientific integrity, and current legal frameworks now governing integrity. Scientific integrity is just one aspect of the overall ethical integrity of science and academia. Scientific integrity as we take it here principally concerns the integrity of scientific results and scientific claims.
In this environment scientific results are increasingly subject to scrutiny, even as the pressure to perform and produce results continues to increase. As such various national and European agencies have responded with considerable concern and the creation of new codes of conduct in which specific issues of scientific integrity are addressed, including in particular the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Integrity (2018). Universities in the Netherlands have themselves been placed by the code under a duty of care to ensure research within their domains meets the standards of the code.
In this Online Programme our goal is to provide academics with:
- A basic understanding of reasons underlying recent drive for scientific integrity standards;
- An understanding of the types of norms, ethical values and skills promoting the production of reliable scientific claims;
- An overview of the legal frameworks now governing scientific integrity;
- An overview of specific common types of integrity failures or practices which put integrity at risk.
As such we hope to provide resources and knowledge necessary to help academics navigate the modern, high-pressure, highly results-driven world of academic research. This Online Programme has been adapted from the PhD/PDEng Introductory Workshop +Online Academic Integrity initially developed for PhDs/PDEngs at the University of Twente.
Programme Structure
As a body of work this online programme amounts to approximately 0.75 ECTS. Modules vary in length significantly. Each module allows you to test your knowledge and understanding by means of comprehension quizzes and short case studies. Discussion boards are also available for some units. None of the assignment work however is graded or reviewed. These are set aside for you as a chance to apply module content, and provide some practice in reasoning through integrity type problems. The 10 units are divided between two core themes: theory and practice.
Theory
The goal of the theory units is to provide some of the broader concepts and moral dimensions which govern our ability to make decisions which support the integrity of scientific research in the often complex situations we encounter as academics.
Practice
In the practice component we identify common concrete situations in which academic integrity is at stake and learn to apply relevant norms and principles, as well relevant legal codes and principles.
How to sign up
Please send an email to cdc-hr@utwente.nl to receive the canvas link for the online programme. Or use the canvas browser and search for 'scientific integrity'.