The new Act on ethics and integrity in research came into force 1 May 2017
You can find The Act on ethics and integrity in research on The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees’ website
The Act firmly places the responsibility for research ethics on the research institution.
The institution must ensure that
- research is conducted in accordance with recognised norms of research ethics
- students/candidates and employees are trained in recognised norms of research ethics
- anyone who is doing research or participating in research is familiar with recognised norms of research ethics
Research institutions are required to facilitate and make it easy for researchers to follow good scientific practice. The institutions must have a system that can help discover and follow up any deviations from the norm as well as any misconduct. The individual researcher has an independent responsibility to follow recognised norms of research ethics at all stages of the research process.
The following ethical guidelines apply to supervisory relationships at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Principles of research ethics are defined in several guidance documents, such as the
- Act on ethics and integrity in research
- The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (pdf)
- The Personal Data Act
- The Act on medical and health research (pdf)
These principles can be summarised in the following key terms
- Reliability
- Honesty
- Respect
- Accountability
The Faculty of Medicine is responsible for providing students and PhD candidates high quality supervision and current research ethical guidelines. It is the institutes’ and individual supervisors’ responsibility to keep the students/candidates informed about these matters and to exercise good supervision following ethical norms.
The ethical guidelines apply to all studies at the Faculty where student/candidate is writing an assignment and receiving supervision.
It is also expected that the student/candidate contributes to a well-functioning supervisory relationship and that he/she takes responsibility for familiarising him/herself with the research ethical guidelines.
1. Obligations of the parties – faculty/institute, supervisor, student/candidate
The faculty, together with the institute
- shall quality assure supervision through training and raising the supervisors’ awareness of their supervisory role to ensure that research takes place in accordance with the ethical guidelines.
The supervisor
- shall be a good role model who adheres to the principles of research ethics
- is obliged to keep up to date with the framework and guidelines for supervision
- shall work according to good ethical norms in accordance with the research ethical guidelines
- is obliged to familiarize him/herself with the student’s/candidate’s project, including all corresponding data
- ensure that necessary research ethical approvals are in place before the project commences
- ensure that storage, use and publication of data and personal data are handled according to regulations
- ensure that approvals of amendments to the project are obtained and sent to the faculty
The student/candidate
- shall receive and use academic supervision
- shall share data with his/her supervisors
- shall live up to the research ethical principles that researchers are committed to
- shall handle data and personal data according to regulations
- shall contribute constructively to a good working and learning environment
The principal supervisor vs the co-supervisor
- The principal supervisor has the primary responsibility for the academic follow up of the student/candidate and contact with the university
- The co-supervisor must provide academic supervision and share the academic responsibility of the student/candidate with the principal supervisor
- If the principal supervisor is external, the co-supervisor and principal supervisor have joint responsibility for the contact with the university
A good supervisory relationship includes mutual respect, data sharing and that both parties (supervisor and student/candidate) have a responsibility for the academic integrity of the work. Both parties should be well prepared, on time and avoid interruptions and disruptions in the supervisory sessions.
2. Legal limitations in the supervisory relationship
Impartiality
Supervisor must ensure a professional distance to the student/candidate and shall not form a relationship with the student/candidate that may put the student/candidate in a vulnerable position. A supervisor cannot be supervisor for relatives or in-laws (in accordance with the Public Administration Act, chapter II, Section 8, in norwegian. Supervisor and student/candidate cannot have a sexual relationship.
Gifts and remuneration
Supervisor shall not receive any form of gifts or remunerations for supervision beyond what has been agreed with the university. The supervisor must carefully assess the consequences that may arise if he/she accepts gifts or other benefits from the student/candidate. The same applies to the student/candidate. Guidelines at regjeringen.no about gifts and remuneration (in norwegian)
Sideline jobs
Neither supervisor nor student/candidate can have financial interests in a project that will lead to a doctorate. For further details, see UiO’s website regarding sideline jobs
3. The relationship supervisor –student/candidate
- The supervisor shall be aware of the asymmetry that exists in the supervisory relationship. Academic knowledge and authority shall not be used to gain academic/personal benefits at the expense of others or to offend or suppress others.
- The supervisor shall not share his/her academic or personal problems with the student/candidate unless this is of importance to the student’s/candidate’s work.
- The supervisor and student/candidate shall exercise care and discretion in mentioning colleagues during supervision.
- The supervisor and student/candidate shall not make comments or act in ways that may be offensive or sexually challenging for the student/candidate.
- The supervisor and student/candidate shall both be objective, avoid unfortunate language use and unacceptable behavior, and to make a point of amending anything that may be inaccurate.
- The supervisor and student/candidate shall exercise mutual respect for personal and academic integrity.
- The supervisor and student/candidate shall be open towards each other, but any confidential information that emerges during supervision shall not be shared with other people unless the other party has requested it to be shared. If the supervisor believes that the student/candidate needs help because of personal problems, the supervisor shall as a rule encourage the student/candidate to seek professional help.
4. The research group/team/unit in a supervisory relationship
A supervisory relationship will in practice be found in the context of a research group. All parties involved shall be especially attentive to the following points:
- The supervisor shall help to integrate the student/PhD candidate to the research group/team and unit in a good way, both academically and socially
- Good and respectful relationships between supervisors shall be sought whether the supervisors are internal at UiO or external.
5. Academic honesty
The supervisor is obliged to give the student/candidate training in:
Research ethics
The supervisor shall help the student/candidate to reflect on and discuss dilemmas in research and science in general and help the student/candidate to reflect on his/her own PhD project in particular.
Data collection
The supervisor shall help the student/candidate to assess both strengths and weaknesses in his/her research methods and ensure that data collection takes place in accordance with relevant regulations.
Laboratory work and HSE routines
For laboratory work, the supervisor must familiarize the student/candidate with the institution’s Health, safety and environment routines (HSE)
Research data and data sharing
- The supervisor must make sure that the student/candidate performs research analysis in accordance with the stated research protocol and in accordance with good scientific practice
- The institution normally has ownership of the research data, while the researcher normally has the intellectual property
- The student/candidate is obliged to share data with the supervisor and the institution, both raw data and finished material and presentations.
- The student/candidate is obliged to make his/her research data available for supervisor and institution upon completion of the study programme.
Co-authorship and publication
Co-authorship shall be based on the individual’s scientific contribution to a publication and follow the Vancouver recommendations.
The student/candidate shall give his/her supervisor access to the raw data when publications are written. If the student/candidate or supervisor wishes to use other people’s data material or research results in their own publications or research, permissions must be obtained and credited in accordance with the Vancouver recommendations.
Rights to research results
UiO has a right to work results which have a potential to be commercially exploited. A notification shall without delay be sent to UiO at Inven2. It is the student’s/candidate’s responsibility, in consultation with the supervisor, to ensure that this is done. For further details, see UiO’s website regarding acquisition of rights to work results
6. Conflict
If the supervisor or student/candidate finds a supervisory relationship so difficult that further cooperation seems impossible, the supervisor and/or student/candidate shall involve the head of section in order to find the best solution.
When changing a supervisory relationship, a new supervisor must be appointed and an application for change of supervisors must be signed by the supervisors and student/candidate before it is submitted to the faculty.