GOOD SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE AT THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF FREIBURG

In order to ensure good scientific practice, the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg Senate adopted a statute in November 2022. In it, the KH Freiburg defines principles for ensuring good scientific practice and for dealing with scientific misconduct. These principles apply to all academic staff and students at the University and thus oblige them base their academic work on this statute and to actively contribute to preventing academic misconduct. The statute is based primarily on the German Research Foundation (DFG) Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice (Code of Conduct, 2019), the DFG's Code of Procedure for Dealing with Scientific Misconduct (VerfOwF, 2019), and the recommendations of the German Rectors' Conference on Dealing with Scientific Misconduct at Universities (1998) and on Good Scientific Practice at Universities (2013).

In particular, the principles of good scientific practice include: work according to lege artis, document research results, maintain strict honesty regarding one's own and third parties' contributions, consistently doubt all results oneself, and allow and encourage critical discourse in the scientific community.

Scientific misconduct is deemed to have occurred in particular in the case University members or students who are actively involved in scientific/academic research intentionally or with gross negligence make false statements in a science-relevant context, unjustifiably adopt other people's scientific achievements as their own, or impair other people’s research activities.

To safeguard good scientific practice, the KH Freiburg statute defines the procedure in case of suspicion that the principles of honesty have not been observed and also name the bodies responsible for this at the KH Freiburg: the ombudsperson, their deputy, and the investigation committee.

Statute of the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg for the safeguarding of good scientific practice (in German)

Ombudsperson for reporting a suspicious case, a tip-off or other concerns:
Prof. Dr. Dirk Lauscher - dirk.lauscher@kh-freiburg.de
Deputy Ombudsperson:
Prof.in Dr. Ursula Immenschuh - ursula.immenschuh@kh-freiburg.de