Research ethics and good scientific practice (HTK)

Lapland University of Applied Sciences is committed to the operating principles of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity (TNK) regarding the preliminary assessment of human sciences and guidelines for promoting good scientific practice and handling suspected violations thereof.

We also comply with the Ethical Guidelines for Research on the Sámi in our RDI activities.

Ethical pre-assessment at Lapland UAS

The joint ethics committee for human sciences of Lapland UAS and the University of Lapland takes a position on research plans for which the researcher requests a pre-assessment from the university regarding the ethics of the research plan and methods.

Read more about ethical pre-assessment

Research permits

A research permit is required for a thesis or RDI project that focuses on Lapland UAS, its staff or students, and meets one of the following conditions:

• the research setting requires ethical pre-assessment
• the research plan includes a request for the disclosure of personal data.

If the first condition is met, an ethical pre-assessment must be carried out before a research permit can be granted.

Good scientific practice at Lapland UAS

The guidelines for good scientific practice and their application are self-regulated by the Lapland UAS community. Responsibility for complying with the guidelines lies with each researcher, teacher, and expert, but also with RDI projects and their project managers and the organization’s management.

Lapland UAS is responsible for providing training in good scientific practice and teaching research ethics. Support and guidance related to research ethics is also available to staff.

Violations of good scientific practice

Violations of good scientific practice refer to unethical and dishonest behavior, which may be intentional or due to negligence.

The following are considered violations of good scientific practice

• deliberate serious conduct contrary to good scientific practice, or
• conduct in which good scientific practice has been seriously neglected due to negligence or indifference, even though there was an opportunity to comply with it, or
• a serious breach of good scientific practice due to ignorance, resulting from a failure to clarify matters even though it would have been possible to do so.

Read more about the HTK guidelines.

Instructions

What to do if you need a research permit?

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Lapland UAS has a standard form for research permit applications. Fill in the information requested on the form and attach the necessary appendices as requested. Submit your research permit application and attachments to the Lapland UAS registry (kirjaamo(a)lapinamk.fi), which will forward it for processing.

What to do if you suspect a breach of good scientific practice?

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If you suspect a violation of ethical guidelines in relation to theses or RDI activities carried out at Lapland UAS, you must submit a substantiated report to the rector of Lapland UAS using the ethical guidelines violation report form. Submit the report to the registry (kirjaamo(a)lapinamk.fi). If necessary, you can get support and guidance from your organization’s research ethics support person.