Research ethics spans a wide range of issues, from formal permits in connection with experiments involving animals or humans to issues of cheating and misconduct. Good scientific practice can be described as the overall ethical requirements for how research should be conducted. Serious breaches of good scientific practice can, for example, be misconduct in research.

Swedish legislation that came into force in January 2020 defines “research misconduct” in terms of serious breaches of good scientific practice in the form of fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. Other breaches of good scientific practice can also be considered serious.

Research misconduct

Science as a phenomenon and the researchers enjoy a great deal of trust in society. Research misconduct is therefore very serious. Dishonesty means e.g. falsification or fabrication of results, plagiarism, and misleading information about people's contributions to research. The University of Borås has established guidelines for dealing with suspected misconduct in research.

Cheating in doctoral education

The Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 10) states that disciplinary measures may be taken against students who "try to mislead during exams or when study performance is otherwise to be assessed." Such cheating can lead to a warning or a temporary suspension from studies. Those responsible for the doctoral programme are obliged to report suspicions of cheating to the Vice-Chancellor, who will then have the matter investigated by the university's Disciplinary Board.

Copyright

Both the material you produce and the material you use in teaching or research are protected by copyright. This must be taken into account in your role as a doctoral student and you are therefore encouraged to read the information linked to below.