What does scientific integrity mean for ETH researchers?

Integrity in science is an attitude that is evident in the daily work of a research group and is reflected in the way researchers treat each other. Self-criticism, transparency and fairness are essential elements of this attitude. A culture of integrity and “good scientific practice” contribute to trust in science by allowing other researchers, business and society to rely on scientific knowledge being generated according to accepted standards and in an honest, transparent and reproducible way.

In this sense, conduct with integrity and good scientific practice are both a characteristic and a prerequisite of excellent science. Scientific integrity is a core value of ETH Zurich; its application is outlined in the “Guidelines for Research Integrity and Good Scientific Practice at ETH Zurich (Integrity Guidelines, RSETHZ 414)”.

Discussion about new ETH Integrity Guidelines opened

These Integrity Guidelines entered into force in 2008 and have since been amended twice (in 2009 and 2011). Various developments over the past ten years (including open science, open research data, conflicts of interest) as well as practical experience gathered by researchers, technical staff and confidants at ETH have now triggered a comprehensive review of the guidelines. Furthermore, there are new regulations relevant to ETH, such as the one published in May 2021: external page“Code of Scientific Integrity” of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciencescall_made. This served as the basis for reviewing, further specifying and supplementing ETH Zurich’s Integrity Guidelines along the lines of the Code.

At the request of the Executive Board, the Commission for Good Scientific Practice (GSP Commission), established in 2018, drafted a thoroughly revised set of Integrity Guidelines. The Executive Board released this draft at the end of June for broad discussion within ETH. Accordingly, the consultation process was launched under the leadership of Detlef Günther, Vice President for Research. All departments, university groups and staff are invited to submit feedback by 20 October 2021 on the content (i.e., which aspects are thematically part of scientific integrity and should be addressed in the guidelines) and the level of detail in the draft.

“Broad feedback is important to us,” says Nicolas Gruber, President of the GSP Commission, “because what the Integrity Guidelines describe must also be lived out in practice. It’s about the culture of our research and those values and principles that enable trust among researchers and in science.”

Four principles form the backbone of integrity

Four concrete basic principles of scientific integrity (Art. 3), based on the Code of the Academies, now form the basis of the Integrity Guidelines.

• Reliability ensures quality in teaching and research and underpins credibility as well as trust in science. It refers to all phases of scientific work, from conception (including selection of the project and project partners) to publication and data maintenance. Reliability involves transparency and traceability.
• Honesty in the development as well as in the design and implementation, review and evaluation, and reporting and communication of teaching and research means that these steps are taken in a transparent manner and in an effort to achieve the greatest possible impartiality.
• Respect is due to colleagues in science as well as to employees, persons in training, study and research participants, society, cultural heritage and the environment.
• Scientists bear responsibility for the consequences of their own actions in teaching, research and all related areas, especially for the safety of employees and for the careful use of resources.

A guide for daily research work

These basic principles are applicable to both teaching and research activities. Overall, the guidelines govern integrity in research work as well as in the publication and utilisation of research findings and in the assessment and evaluation of research (keyword: conflicts of interest). One key innovation is the commitment to general principles and standards: all researchers at ETH Zurich should be responsible for ensuring that their conduct complies with the principles and standards of good scientific practice.

In purely practical terms, they function as a good guideline: “The revised Integrity Guidelines aren’t intended to be an isolated legal text, but rather to provide researchers with orientation as to what integrity means for their scientific work. That’s why we want to pick up on their experience and knowledge, as well as broadly discuss the values and principles of good scientific practice with them internally,” says ETH Vice President Detlef Günther.

Due to the overlap in content, it has been decided to combine consultations on the Integrity Guidelines and on the draft Research Data Management Guidelines. The latter govern central aspects of research data management (collection, processing, publication and storage of as well as access to research data) and responsibilities at ETH. Based on the results of the consultation, the GSP Commission will revise the draft Integrity Guidelines and submit them to the Executive Board.

Subsequently, the Procedure to address allegations of research misconduct (RSETHZ 415) will also undergo a total revision.