The Statutes on Safeguarding Good Academic Practice serve as a guideline for all members of the Leipzig University community. They hold up honesty as an irrevocable component of research and teaching and in the promotion of early career researchers at Leipzig University.
The statutes for safeguarding good scientific practice form the central basis for a research culture of integrity at Leipzig University. Its current revision came into force on September 22, 2022 and is based on the guidelines of the Code of the German Research Foundation (2019).
These statutes clearly define the principles of good scientific practice and specify the framework conditions for dealing with suspected cases of scientific misconduct. In particular, it strengthens the rights of researchers in early career phases as well as whistleblowers and those affected. The aim is to consistently prevent abuse of power and the exploitation of dependency relationships at all levels of work and management.
The statutes are currently being revised in order to further optimize them and adapt them to current developments.
Archiving research data
The University Computing Centre provides an institutional solution for archiving research data. Its Research Data Archive service directly supports researchers in their efforts to conduct good research by providing them the option to archive their research long term in Saxony’s Open Access Repository and Archive (OpARA). Research data can be published, archived and reused on OpARA.
Research data management
Appropriate handling of research data is an important mark of quality in academic work. The rules governing good academic practice and the guidelines issued by funding organisations require a systematic and sustainable handling of research data.
The four FAIR Data Principles can serve as a guideline:
- Findable
- Accessible
- Interoperable
- Reusable
The Research Data Team offers individual consultations as well as information sessions and workshops on the topic.
Open Science Office
The Open Science Office at Leipzig University Library provides research support services for researchers at the University. These services include the following:
- Individual and subject-specific information and advice on all aspects of open science, for example, on open access publishing and possible funding channels, on dealing with research data, and on licenses and authors’ rights
- Publishing Service: Advice and service for first and second publications on Leipzig University’s Publication Server
- Open Access Fund for various publication formats:
- Advice on research data management and assistance with the publication of research data
- Advice on text and data mining
- Advice on using ORCID and assistance with creating and filling personal ORCID accounts
Early career researchers in the supervisory relationship
The rights of early career researchers in the supervisory relationship have been strengthened in the current statutes on safeguarding good academic practice. Early career researchers are entitled to regular supervision, advice and support. In this context, the statutes specify the management responsibility. Scientists in a leadership and/or supervisory function are responsible for ensuring that a group as a whole can fulfill its tasks, that the necessary cooperation and coordination take place, and that all members are aware of their roles, rights and duties. In addition to regular exchange, this also includes a relationship of support and personal responsibility that is appropriate to the career level.
In the context of cross-phase quality assurance, the bylaws stipulate the prevention of abuse of power and the exploitation of dependency relationships both at the level of the individual scientific work unit and at the level of the management.
Supervision agreement
For the binding definition of the individual framework conditions as well as the rights and obligations of supervisors and doctoral researchers, a supervision agreement is to be concluded. The statutes stipulate that the doctoral regulations contain a passage that obligates all parties involved to comply with this agreement. Supervision agreements are independent contracts between doctoral researchers and supervisors. They go beyond a mere relationship of courtesy and establish contractual obligations for both parties in connection with the doctorate.
The Graduate Academy Leipzig provides a template for a supervision agreement. This is based on the DFG's recommendations for drawing up supervision agreements.
Guidelines for dealing with artificial intelligence
The following guidelines can provide guidance on the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI).
- Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI from the European Commission
- Position paper from the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) Authorship and AI
- Recommendations of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Chatbots and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Relation to Scholarly Publications
- Statement by the Executive Committee of the German Research Foundation (DFG) on the influence of generative models for text and image creation on the sciences and the DFG's funding activities
- Guideline for dealing with artificial intelligence, Berlin Universities Publishing
- Handout on the citation of AI tools, Berlin Universities Publishing