Responsibility for good research practice
Lund University has overall responsibility for ensuring that research conducted at the University is carried out in accordance with good research practice.
All employees who participate in research activities at Lund University have a responsibility to comply with good research practice. This means complying with legally binding provisions such as laws, regulations and rules, but also respecting ethical guidelines and codes, such as the ALLEA Code.
What constitutes a deviation from good research practice?
Good research practice is fundamental to research and involves honesty, accuracy, transparency and respect. A deviation from good research practice therefore means that the researcher violates the rules or standards that apply to research. In Sweden, a distinction is made between research misconduct and other deviations from good research practice.
Research misconduct is a specific type of deviation that is serious and defined in law (2019:504). Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification or plagiarism (FFP) committed intentionally or with gross negligence. These cases are examined by the national Board for Investigation of Research Misconduct. (Npof).
Other deviations from good research practice include anything that is not FFP but still contravenes good research practice. This may be something that damages or risks damaging the integrity of the research process, the research or the researcher, and which is done intentionally or with gross negligence in the planning, implementation or reporting of research.
Examples of other deviations from good research practice may include:
- providing misleading information about a person’s contribution to research
- persuading or seeking to influence someone to act in a way that deviates from good research practice
- displaying a lack of respect for research subjects, for example when collecting, processing or reporting research data
- conducting research without, or in contravention of, the necessary permits
These cases are investigated by the Deviations from Good Research Practice Review Board at Lund University. The guidelines (below) contain further examples of other deviations.
What to do if you suspect a deviation from good research practic
Suspected deviations from good research practice at Lund University must be reported immediately to the Vice-Chancellor or directly to the Swedish National Board for Assessment of Research Misconduct in the event of suspected research misconduct. See link below.
Support for researchers
Several functions offer support in matters relating to good research practice.
Research representative
Each faculty has a research representative available for support in matters relating to good research practice. The representatives offer independent advice and work preventively to promote good research practice, but they do not handle cases of suspected deviations.
Read more: Research representatives
Research ethics support function
The University’s research ethics support function offers advice to both researchers and management on issues relating to research ethics and research ethics regulations.
For questions, contact:forskningsetik [at] lu [dot] se (Research ethics support function)
Read more
- Guidelines for the Processing of Matters Relating to Suspected Deviation from Good Research Practice
- Deviations from good research practice
- Reporting suspected deviations from good research practice
- ALLEA Code of Conduct (PDF 456 kB, new tab)
- The Swedish Research Council’s publication Good Research Practice 2024 (PDF 1,3 MB, new tab