Guidelines for examining suspected deviations from good research practice
The guidelines are aimed at everyone involved in research activities at KI, as well as those at KI who handle cases of suspected research misconduct or other departures from good research practice.
- Diary number: 1-496/2026
- Dnr preg. version: 1-358/2020
- Decision date:
- Validity period: Until further notice
- Decision: President
- Document type: Guidelines
- Handled by department/unit: GVS.JPE.Juridiska enheten
- Preparation with: Compliance & Data Office, HR, Council for the Examination of Deviation from Good Research Practice, Committee for Ethics and Good Research Practice
- Revision with respect to: The council's mandate to be responsible for feedback is removed. The council is tasked with assisting the Committee for Ethics and Good Research Practice. KI does not investigate deviations that occurred outside of KI's operations. Clarifications of the notified right to speak and of measures following cases in the national board. Adjustments regarding misconduct in research supported by the US Public Health Service. Linguistic and editorial changes.
Summary of the guidelines
The Higher Education Act provides that in the course of their operations, higher education institutions (HEI) shall uphold academic credibility and good research practice, and that the operations of higher education institutions shall be arranged to ensure that high standards are attained in courses and study programmes and in research. All deviations from good research practice must therefore be prevented and suspicions of such be handled in a way that does not undermine the confidence of the general public in research.
It is the researcher’s responsibility to observe good research practice in his/her research. As research principal, Karolinska Institutet has overall responsibility for ensuring that its research is conducted in accordance with good research practice.
Further, the Act on responsibility for good research practice and the examination of research misconduct (2019:504) provides that if there is a suspicion of research misconduct the case should be examined by a national board. According to the Higher Education Ordinance, other suspected deviations from good research practice than the above are to be examined by the HEI itself. The HEI must have guidelines for its examination of suspected deviations from good research practice.
KI thus has an obligation to investigate suspected deviations from good research practice that have occurred within KI's operations.
These guidelines pertain to everyone engaged in research activities at KI and those who handle cases of suspected scientific misconduct or other deviations from good research practice at KI.
In the event of suspected scientific misconduct in research financed by the Public Health Services (PHS) additional rules apply. Research conducted without an ethical or other type of permit is covered by separate rules and is therefore dealt with elsewhere.
Definitions
Scientific misconduct is defined as a serious deviation from good research practice in the form of fabrication, falsification or plagiarism committed intentionally or through gross negligence in the planning, execution or reporting of research.
Other deviations from good research practice includes such deviations that do not constitute misconduct but that damage or threaten to damage the integrity of the research processes, research or a researcher by act of intention or gross negligence in the planning, execution or reporting of research.
The examination of the latter shall be based on relevant national and international rules and principles in force at the time that the research in question was conducted or reported, such as the Swedish Scientific Council’s report Good Research Practice, the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity from ALLEA, the international publication standards set by the Vancouver Convention, and the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) ethical guidelines for peer reviewers.