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This page describes the different areas of research integrity on a general level as well as Diak’s practices and guidelines.
Diak graduates are pioneers of multidisciplinary ethical competence. Our research, development and innovation (RDI) activities are ethically acceptable and reliable, and we follow the guidelines of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK on good scientific practice and prevention of research misconduct.
Diak graduates are pioneers of multidisciplinary ethical competence. Our research, development and innovation (RDI) activities are ethically acceptable and reliable, and we follow the guidelines of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK on good scientific practice and prevention of research misconduct.
Both the students and the teachers are responsible actors at Diak. We follow the instructions given and report deviations via the Incy reporting system used in Diak.
The ethical recommendations for thesis writing at universities of applied sciences (Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, 2020) form the core principles for Diak’s research integrity. These include
The publication contains checklists for both the student and the supervisor.
The Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK’s Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) guidelines (TENK, 2012), its guidelines for ethical review in human sciences (TENK, 2019) and the ethical recommendations for the process of supervision and reviewing of doctoral dissertation published by the Universities Finland UNIFI and TENK (TENK and UNIFI, 2016) were used in the preparation of the ethical recommendations for thesis writing universities of applied sciences.
The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, revised by ALLEA (All European Academies) (2017), is always binding for those who apply for EU funding. It emphasizes good research practices. The EU has also produced a Finnish translation of the document.
TENK has issued instructions to higher education institutions (15 February 2018) on the appointment of a research integrity advisor. The advisor’s main task is to provide researchers with confidential advice on how to address ethical issues in research and to promote good scientific practice at Diak. Principal Lecturer Olli Vesterinen has been appointed to the position. The identification and prevention of academic fraud and providing support when a violation of a researcher’s rights is suspected are central tasks of the advisor.
Diak collaborates on research integrity with Arcada, Humak, Laurea, Hamk, and Metropolia. These universities of applied sciences have a joint research integrity committee, where Diak is represented by Principal Lecturer Mikko Malkavaara. An ethical review can be requested with the same process as a research permit, but in the overall process, the ethical review must be requested and conducted before a research permit can be applied for. In universities of applied sciences, an ethical review may be required for master’s level theses, for studies carried out by teachers and, in some cases, for bachelor’s theses, in which case the student makes the request for the ethical review together with their thesis supervisor. (Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, i.a.)
The website Responsible Research is particularly important. The website includes researcher-oriented and up-to-date information on good scientific practices, responsible scientific communications and research integrity. The topics are categorised according to the research process: planning – doing research – publishing – reuse. The website is easy to use and constantly updated. Keeping an eye on it keeps researchers and thesis supervisors up to date on ethical issues.
TENK, Unifi, Arene and the Academy of Finland have also published a researcher’s curriculum vitae template, which is recommended to be used for purposes requiring a CV. The template emphasizes honesty and truthfulness. The template can be found on TENK’s website https://tenk.fi/en/advice-and-materials/template-researchers-curriculum-vitae.
In the context of universities of applied sciences, the most significant area of application of research integrity is the ethics of thesis supervision. In learning research integrity, guidance is paramount. Good supervision has an impact on the students’ graduation time, the progress and completion of their theses, the well-being and satisfaction of students, and the development of students’ competence and skills. The quality of the guidance provided to students is not inconsequential. The supervisor influences the students’ awareness of ethical requirements and their willingness to follow ethical norms and guidelines. Research integrity is learned in interaction with teachers and supervisors.
Ethical challenges in supervision include actions that impede fair and equitable treatment, inadequate guidance and supervision, abandoning the student, forcing a student to make choices in accordance with the supervisor’s values, exploitation, mental abuse, encouragement to fraud, role conflicts, and questions relating to author’s agency.
The research subjects’ personal data produced in connection with the research must be managed according to the principles of the data protection regulation.
Data Management Plan deals with this issue. You can find a fill-in form from the Diak website for data management plan under Forms:
Below are some examples of how different aspects of the data storage and destruction should be accorded for in the data management plan (interview data used as an example):
Data storage example:
“Interview recordings will not include personal data, i.e. names of the interviewees will not be used in the records. After transferring the interview voice files, all files will be destroyed from the recorder and other storage locations and will be used for local analysis only. The file storage will be password protected. During the transcription, all interviewees will be anonymised. This means that they will be given an unidentifiable pseudonym by the thesis authors.”
Recorded data destruction example:
“All sound recordings will be destroyed within a year of the publication of the thesis and anonymised transcriptions within 5 years by the student. The files will be stored locally (not in cloud services).” (Note! Local means e.g. PC or a memory stick. Files can also be password-protected in e.g. Word).
An assessment of the impact of the data protection is often needed as well. In the assessment, the goal is to identify and manage the risks associated with the processing of personal data. The assessment of the impact of the data protection will be attached to the Research permission form.
Current version of the Assessment of the impact of data protection form is available under the heading Forms at the Diak website
⇒ Forms
Mikko Malkavaara and Olli Vesterinen