Research ethics
Diak graduates are experts in cross-sectoral ethical norms.
Our RDI activities are ethically sound and reliable, and we adhere to the guidelines of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity on responsible conduct of research and procedures for handling allegations of misconduct.
Both students and teachers are responsible actors at Diak and are expected to adhere to guidelines and report any nonconformities relating to studies through our Falcony reporting system.
Principles
The Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (Arene) has approved the Ethical Recommendations for Thesis Writing at Universities of Applied Sciences. They form the basis of Diak’s ethical principles on research, which include
- determining conflict of interest
- sufficient knowledge of the topic
- good scientific practice
- ethical review
- processing of personal data
- research permit
- agreements
- copyright
- data management plan (data storage, managing access and destruction of data)
- plagiarism
- publication of the thesis.
Read the checklists for students and supervisors from Arene’s publication.
Check the permits, agreements and consent documents relating to Diak’s practices from the Forms page.
Other guidelines on research ethics
Our guidelines are based on TENK’s guidelines on responsible conduct of research (RCR), TENK’s ethical principles in the human sciences and TENK/UNIFI’s guidelines on the supervision of doctoral dissertations and their review process .
- Read the ethical guidelines on the website of TENK
- Read Diak’s principles of open science and research
- Ethical review – Diak collaborates on research ethics with Arcada, Humak, Laurea, Hamk and Metropolia. The institutions have a joint committee on research ethics, in which Diak is represented by senior lecturer Arja Suikkala.
- Responsible Research offers latest information on good scientific practice, responsible communication and research ethics.
- Template for researcher’s curriculum vitae – TENK, Universities Finland UNIFI ry, Arene and the Academy of Finland have published a template which is recommended for drawing up a researcher’s curriculum vitae.
- The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity – Revisited edition is binding on all EU funding applicants (All European Academies, ALLEA).
Thesis and supervision
The most common application of research ethics in the UAS setting is thesis supervision. Supervision plays a key role in ensuring that students learn about research ethics. Good supervision helps to ensure timely graduation, thesis progress and completion, students’ well-being and satisfaction, and the development of skills and knowledge.
The supervisor has an influence on students’ awareness of ethical standards and their willingness to adhere to ethical standards and guidelines. Students learn research ethics through interaction with teachers and supervisors.