Good research practice – a matter of course?

“The transition to open science has created incentives for rogue actors, while AI has created new opportunities for, for example, fabricated articles. At the same time, researchers’ career paths are built on publishing for qualifications. They need publications to receive research funding and advance in the career ladder. This drives a dysfunctional publishing system,” explained Jonas Gilbert, Library Director. 

The University of Borås also faces challenges. At the beginning of the autumn, the Vice-Chancellor made a decision in a case concerning breaches of good research practice. The decision follows a review at the University of Borås due to the retraction of five scientific articles linked to an employed researcher. The review was carried out by a specially appointed group of internal and external assessors. 

“We take breaches very seriously. As part of this, we have decided, among other things, to take measures with the aim of spreading awareness of and compliance with good research practice. The university must work more actively with research ethics principles regarding, among other things, publication,” said Anna Cregård, Pro-Vice-Chancellor.  

Support for researchers at the university

At the University Library, work is now underway to review how they can give researchers even more support in scientific publishing. Librarian Pieta Eklund said that they are reviewing the available information about questionable journals, conferences and publishers, as well as publishing and open access.

“We are also working on developing a guide on publishing ethics and a seminar with the same focus. The ambition is for the seminar to be held during February–March. We have also developed a procedure for how we in DiVA mark withdrawn research articles, i.e. articles that have been withdrawn by journals/publishers after publication when scientific fraud or ethical violations have been discovered, for example. There is also a national ambition to produce a compilation of whitelisted journals to make things easier for researchers,” said Pieta Eklund.

International action plan has been presented

This summer, a workshop was arranged at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences where researchers from all over the world gathered to discuss the problem of fake science. Now the Stockholm Declaration, an action plan with guidelines for good research practice, has been presented. 

“Clear positions from the research community are very welcome. In order to bring about the changes that are required, all actors need to help each other: researchers, university management teams, funders, libraries, and the scientific publishers,” said Jonas Gilbert.

The University of Borås also has a workgroup for open science that has the task of coordinating and supporting the transition to open science. This is an assignment that the university has received from the Swedish government. The Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions has developed a roadmap with recommendations for how higher education institutions can implement the different elements of open science. In addition to publication issues, it is important to develop research data management and the systems for the acquisition of qualifications, for example.

Read more

Review the University Library's resources about publishing and open access. 

Review the University Library's resources about questionable journals and conferences.

The University Library offers presentations to researchers and doctoral students. You can also schedule a presentation on a specific topic. Review the programme for Rise and Shine. 

Review the university's overall support for researchers and doctoral students. 

Read the article from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, “Proposed actions against fake science presented after meeting”.