What is this about? (Is About)
From The Embassy of Good Science
A short summary providing some details about the theme/resource (max. 75 words)
- ⧼SA Foundation Data Type⧽: Text
I
The irecs project has developed a four-pillar framework to guide the implementation of research ethics governance at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Research Performing Organizations (RPOs). This policy brief introduces the irecs framework and provides recommendations for action, specifically targeting leaders of HEIs and RPOs. +
This article presents two factual cases of a substantial and very steep improvement in two journals’ impact factor (JIF): Case A demonstrates how the journal FOLIA PHONIATR LOGO, in an attempt to improve its JIF, published an editorial which cited a large number of its own previously published articles; as a result, the journal was revoked in the following year by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). In case B, the journal ACTA CRYSTALLOGR improved its overall impact factor by an astonishing 2,334% following the publication of a single very highly cited article. Because of the way that JIF is calculated, the journal’s high factor was retained for two years. However, in contrast to case A above, the journal in case B was not revoked. +
Improving epistemological beliefs and moral judgment through an STS-based science ethics education program +
This study develops a Science–Technology–Society (STS)-based science ethics education program for high school students planning to major in science and engineering. The program includes the fields of philosophy, history, sociology and ethics of science and technology and other STS-related theories and aims to help solve moral and social dilemmas in science and engineering. The authors conclude that there was significant development in students' epistemological beliefs and moral judgment. +
This article describes developing of a booklet that informs participants of their rights in clinical studies. The aim is to improve informed consent. +
This is a factual case of misconduct by physics researcher Hendrik Schön. +
A graduate student felt that discrepancies between her and her mentor’s findings were due to inadequate testing on the mentor’s part; the mentor contends that the student’s inexperience is the issue. +
Incorporating gender, health, and climate justice in your research: A reflexive question card exercise +
This micromodule introduces a reflexive tool based on question cards designed to support researchers and practitioners in integrating intersectional gender, health, and climate considerations into their research. Developed by Verdonk et al. (2024), the card prompts support thoughtful engagement with public policy contexts, systemic inequities, and positionality. Drawing on the Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) framework, ecofeminist theory, and feminist systems thinking, the cards help participants address equity, voice, and sustainability in the context of planetary health and just urban transitions. +
The aim of this study was to align research ethics education programs with the demands of practice. Research participants were senior researchers who suggest that the development of researchers' decision making should be included into ethics education programs, along with the existing formal rules for research. +
IRFD outlines an open access policy adopted jointly in Denmark in 2019 that aims to increase public access to taxpayer‑funded research while balancing publisher contracts and embargo periods. The fund’s website provides high‑level principles, references national policy, and offers practical grant‑management pages on dissemination and publication, terms and conditions, and openness in assessment. It notes that while the fund supports open dissemination, it does not currently fund APCs and allows limited embargoes within national guidelines. Applicants and grantholders are directed to follow the conditions specified in individual grant letters and to use repositories to achieve compliance when feasible. +
The document 'Scientific values: Ethical guidelines and procedures', developed in 2024 in India, is a national guideline that addresses the principles of research integrity. Authored by Indian Academy of Sciences, and available in English, it targets the research community in India (but also associates to the indian academy of science). It provides clear expectations for responsible conduct in research and defines practices that safeguard honesty, transparency, and accountability. The text outlines responsibilities of both individual researchers and institutions. It identifies misconduct such as plagiarism, data falsification, fabrication, and unethical authorship, while also promoting good practices in publication, peer review, and collaborative research. It emphasizes effective data management, openness in reporting, and respect for colleagues, participants, and the wider community. Institutions are encouraged to create supportive environments through policies, training, and oversight mechanisms. The document serves as an official reference for aligning national research standards with international expectations, reinforcing ethical norms across research fields. +
This case is about scientific fraud in research concerning psychopharmacology. Specifically, it is about the use of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) group of antidepressants that has the potential to trigger suicidality in a subgroup of patients. This is a factual case, linked to companies' abilties to keep clinical trial data out of the public domain. +
This blog post is about two research subjects who received 100 times more caffeine than they were supposed to and were consequently hospitalised. +
Competent supervision and mentoring must be offered to researchers at all stages of their career development. The RIPP must specify procedures and criteria for qualifying as a supervisor or mentor and must include guidelines for supervision and mentoring of researchers at different career stages, with due attention to responsible conduct of research, research integrity and academic leadership should be valued. +
This infographic provides a quick overview of the four guidelines on RI education developed within the SOPs4RI project, focusing on the RI education of 1) bachelor, master and PhD students, 2) post-doctorate and senior researchers, 3) other research integrity stakeholders, as well as 4) continuous research integrity education. +
This resource gives a comprehensive overview of RI-related guidelines useful for research funding organization during the entire funding process. +
These infographics developed by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) provide information on RCR and advises how to handle research misconduct. It is aimed at RCR instructors and and Research Integrity Officers (RIOs) to help them educate their colleagues and students on issues of RI. +
A professor serving at an administrative committee at the university reviews surveys sent to students, faculty and staff regarding issues relevant to the university. The surveys are meant to inform the administration about the opinions of key stakeholders. However, the professor observes that some of the results could be used for a paper about the crisis of the higher education which he proceeds to write. The case study asks whether the surveys should be reviewed by an ethics committee and whether the professor's approach protects human subjects. +
A research team preparing a study of urban poverty decides to hold a pre-test during a conference related to a devoted subject. After the organizers agree, they distribute surveys among the conference participants who may fill them if they want. The case study asks whether the researchers obtained sufficient consent. +
This Micromodule familiarizes participants with the ideas of degrowth, postgrowth, and post-growth-oriented innovation, highlighting the limits of traditional growth and the need for sustainable, socially just approaches. Through interactive exercises, learners will examine the contrasts between growth-focused and post-growth organizations, the concept of convivial technologies, and the social and ecological priorities of degrowth strategies. Activities include comprehension questions, multiple-choice reflections, and True/False tasks, designed to deepen understanding of sustainability, collective action, and equitable innovation. By the end of the Micromodule, participants will grasp core post-growth concepts, critically assess growth-oriented innovation, and identify real-world examples of participatory and sustainable innovation practices. +
This article presents two cases regarding digital surveillance technologies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and describes the privacy implications. The authors conclude that there is a need for privacy considerations in the design of digital solutions and also privacy reflections risk exposing the health of citizens and wasting public resources. +
