The story of the development of the Estonian Code of Conduct for Research Integrity was included in a new book by Springer

In the recently published book "Integrity of Scientific Research. Fraud, Misconduct and Fake News in the Academic, Medical and Social Environment" the researchers of the Centre for Ethics, University of Tartu write about the creation of Estonian Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and the implementation of the national research ethics system.

Research fellow in ethics Mari-Liisa Parder, junior researchers Marten Juurik, Kristi Lõuk and Katrin Velbaum, together with associate professor of practical philosophy Kadri Simm and professor Margit Sutrop, wrote down the story of how the Estonian Code of Conduct for Research Integrity was compiled, the related process and touchstones of the development of the national research ethics system.

In the article "Development and Implementation of a National Research Integrity System: The Case of the Estonian Code of Conduct for Research Integrity", the authors point out that numerous codes of conduct for research integrity have been developed, but little is known about the processes of their preparation. Based on the experience of Estonia, it has been pointed out that the creation of the code was motivated by the need to regulate what is happening in our scientific landscape at the national level, to raise awareness, to prevent misconduct and to keep up with other countries where this topic is being dealt with.

In the case of Estonian Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, it was preferred to start the code from scratch in order to create a sense of co-responsibility in the research community and to consider our cultural context. The most divisive issues were the length of the document, its somewhat declarative nature, and its ambiguous role. The study by the authors of the article also confirmed that, in order to promote a culture of good science, ethical codes need to be strengthened with other elements of the scientific ethics system (e.g. trainings, a clear system for dealing with cases of misconduct, etc.).

The authors of the book write that it provides a comprehensive overview of research integrity and ethics in various disciplines. In addition, the book's authors discuss recent developments and debates in research ethics, as well as providing guidance on how to analyze and resolve cases of scientific misconduct.

More information about the book can be found on Springer's website.