Individual datasets that do not belong to any series.
The Research Integrity Barometer 2018 surveys the views of the Finnish research community on research ethics, adherence to the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) guidelines, and ethical challenges and problematic situations related to research work in 2016-2018. The dataset examines ethical guidelines, practices, violations, and the values and operating culture of research work.
Respondents were asked about their organisation's commitment to the RCR guidelines, their familiarity with various research ethics guidelines, the visibility of research ethics support persons, and their participation in research ethics training. Violations of the RCR were explored by assessing the prevalence of different forms of unethical conduct within respondents' research communities over the past three years. These included, for example, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification of results, and neglect related to authorship. In addition, respondents were asked about failures to obtain research permits or ethical review. They were also asked about their own experiences of being subjected to violations and how such cases had been handled within their organisations.
Ethical risks and threats to responsible conduct were examined through statements addressing issues such as lack of information on researchers' rights, ambiguities in the ownership of research data, consequences of suspected misconduct, career pressures, the influence of funding, and awareness of RCR processes. The values and ethical principles of research work were examined by asking respondents to identify the most important values, such as openness, honesty, reliability, independence, critical thinking, and societal impact. In addition, views on the ethical operating culture and leadership of the work community were surveyed.
Background variables in the dataset include the type of the respondent's organisation (university, university of applied sciences, or other research organisation), highest degree obtained, country where the degree was completed (classified), main work content (research, teaching, administration, or other), field of science, and years of research experience.
The barometer was distributed as an electronic survey to all universities, universities of applied sciences, and research institutes in Finland on 9 January 2019. The survey was intended particularly for those working in teaching and research positions. The questionnaire was disseminated through the organisations' own internal communication channels. It was possible to respond to the questionnaire in Finnish, Swedish, or English. The response period was one month, and a reminder message concerning the survey was sent in mid-January.