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
J
This is the factual case of a researcher who was caught manipulating calibrations in pre-clinical data; these manipulations resulted in making data appear safe for use in clinical trials when they might not have been. The researcher, who was working at an American pharmaceutical company based in Scotland, was jailed for 3 months as a result of the investigations. +
Investigations highlight need for a national, independent body to oversee research ethics. It has been a rough year for materials scientist Akihisa Inoue, the president of Tohoku University in Japan. Last March, an earthquake crippled his campus (see [https://doi.org/10.1038/483141a Nature 483,141–143; 2012]). Since then, he has had to retract a series of papers because they contained text that had appeared in his previous publications, and has faced continuing calls for his resignation from the university, which he has rejected. His critics, mostly professors at his university, claim that some of his work cannot be replicated, and that there are irregularities in the data in some of his papers (see [https://doi.org/10.1038/470446a Nature 470, 446–447; 2011]). +
This factual case describes the story of a teenage boy who died during a clinical trial in which a gene therapy for a rare metabolic disorder was tested. The story is told in great detail from the perspective of the boy's father. Following his son's death, he discovered that the researchers leading the trial had conflicts of interest and that he and his son were not properly informed of the risks of the trial. +
Joint Guidelines on the Interplay between the Digital Markets Act and the General Data Protection Regulation +
This document is a draft policy guideline produced jointly by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Commission to explain how two major EU laws the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) should work together in practice. The DMA regulates large digital platforms (“gatekeepers”) to promote fair competition, while the GDPR protects personal data and privacy rights. Their goals, scope, and legal bases differ, but in many cases they overlap for example when gatekeepers process or share personal data in ways that affect competition and data protection. These guidelines clarify how DMA obligations intersect with GDPR requirements on consent, data processing, portability, access rights, interoperability, and anonymisation. The aim is to ensure both sets of rules are applied consistently and coherently, reducing legal uncertainty for companies and protecting individuals’ data rights. The document was open for public consultation until 4 December 2025, with the final version planned for adoption in 2026. +
This document, available in German, recognizes that the pre-existing procedures for the recognition and handling of scientific misconduct are not uniform. At the same time, it emphasized that science requires more rigorous self-governance rather than external intervention. It then lays down principles for good self-governance, including the rights and duties of researchers. +
In this factual case, a paper claiming that there might be a link between pigmentation and aggression/sexual violence was retracted following a petition against its publication. +
These infographics and flowcharts present the whole journal peer review process. Besides providing definition and types of peer review, they describe the basic principles and give tips to researchers and editors on how to respond to peer review and how to conduct it. +
This blog post is about a famous journalist who made up quotes, people, and even entire stories. His fabrication resulted in the retraction of his article in the Harpers magazine. +
This Micromodule introduces sustainability as a wicked problem and highlights the importance of Perspective Taking, Systems Thinking, and Negotiation in engineering. Through interactive exercises, participants will evaluate environmental and social impacts, make informed material and design choices, and reflect on engineers’ broader responsibilities in creating sustainable solutions. +
<span lang="EN-US">Through short podcasts and interactive activities, learners get familiar with different forms of justice – recognition, distributive, spatial, temporal and epistemic – and how these ideas show up in real environmental conflicts.</span>
<span lang="EN-US">A central part of the module looks at the Saami experience with the Fosen wind project. The case shows how renewable energy initiatives, even when well-intended, can overlook indigenous rights if they are pushed forwards without proper consultation or consent.</span> +
K
Based on an extensive consultation process, this guide published by the Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE) offers guidelines for researchers, policymakers and organisations who want to create and maintain collaborative research partnerships across boundaries and cultures. The 11 principles are meant to underscore what is important in the process of developing these partnerships, while the 7 questions are meant to help participants better understand the partnerships they are involved in. +
The poster presents an infographic originally designed by ORI, and accentuates five things supervisors can do to promote integrity in their labs or research groups. +
This is an open-access online journal that publishes papers from rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy. This journal has a three-stage peer review process. +
Yüz yüze eğitime hazırlık için yapılacak bu ödevler, derste kullanılacak kavramlara (araştırma doğruluğuyla ilişkili erdemler, değerler, normlar, ahlaki ikilem ve ahlaki çatışma gibi) ilişkin temel bir anlayış oluşturmakta ve sizi yüz yüze oturumlarda karşılaşacağınız alıştırmalara hazırlamaktadır. +
L
This online course aims to "provide researchers with a better understanding of their obligations and responsibilities, along with practical advice on how to deal with the complex situations in which they may find themselves". It consists of five modules, and has five discipline oriented versions. This course is only accessible for researchers at the KU Leuven. +
This tool provides with information regarding general laboratory safety, mentoring and training, writing skills, notebook and data management as well as administrative and fiscal management. +
Commentary on the Anil Potti case discussing relevant institutional changes in avoiding such misconduct. Potti was a researcher of cancer genomics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. His studies had linked changes in the expression of patients' genes with how they responded to cancer treatments, and independent statisticians had raised concerns about published papers linked to the work before clinical trials were initiated based on them. As the commentary highlights, there were a list of failures in the system of research oversight and integrity at the research institution, which must be corrected. +
This guideline, developed by the Latvian Academy of Sciences, lays down the different aspects of scientific integrity to be adopted by all researchers. +
This law, adopted in 2011, established the office of the Controller of Academic Ethics in Lithuania, and describes the various functions, responsibilities and tasks of this office. +
This legislation, adopted in 2009, provides for the establishment, management, recognition, quality assurance and financing of all scientific education and research in Lithuania. Besides being binding on institutions, it also contains a section on the rights and duties of individual researchers. +
