Supporting good scientific practice

The University of Goettingen as well as the GGG want to promote and guarantee good scientific practice. This should be done on the basis of the definition of what actually is good practice. In order to ensure good practice, bodies of ombudsmen exist that exercise and assure the self-control within the university. The university has published An Orientation Framework for Good Research Practice, which include basic rules and contact data.
This also includes a culture of integrity within sciences: Cases of doubt and conflicts should be addressed and solved as early as possible even though this is not always an easy task due to existing dependent relationships.

In this system, PhD students and supervisors have several possibilities to inform themselves or to find support:

• The Ombuds Office has published a short information sheet especially for PhD students in 2022.
  
• In cases of doubt or conflicts, please get in touch with the university's ombudsmen system and particularly with the ombudsmen commission.
  
• Elected trustees are part of the ombudsmen system as well at the faculty of Law, Social Sciences and Economic Sciences.
  
• Please contact the members of the executive board of the GGG if you have any improvement suggestions from the faculty perspective or if you are facing any conflicts where the PhD representatives or professors can actively intervene.
  
• In order to avoid or mediate potential conflict You can join the Conflict Prevention Working Group.
  
• In addition, there are also contact persons in the president's office.
  
• The German Research Foundation (DFG) published Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice and, moreover, has designated a body of ombudsmen that works independently of the respective university.
  The ombudsmen are contact persons for questions about scientific integrity or intervene in cases of violations of the the aforementioned recommendations as well as in conflict situations.
  
• Mustersatzung zur Sicherung guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis (German), published 2022 by the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz
  
• The European Commission has published Recommendations on Ethics in Social Sciences and Humanities in October 2018.
  
• In 2018 Members of the Max Planck PhDnet have published a positionpaper about power abuse, possibele reasons and conflict resolution which might be inspiring for universities as well.
  
• DFG 2020 about the impacts of the Coronavirus Pandemic
  
• ENRIO-Statement 2020: Research integrity even more important for research during a pandemic
  
• EMBO policy report 2020: Governance of research integrity: Options for a coordinated approach in Europe