The Commission on Scientific Integrity
Dutch version
The Commission on Scientific Integrity (CSI) is a commission of the Research Policy Board. What is the aim of the commission?
The commission has been established to deal independently with discussions and problems affecting the integrity of academic practice.
The tasks of the Commission on Scientific Integrity:
- Investigates reports of problems and formulates recommendations concerning the actions to be taken
- Is kept informed of procedures currently occurring elsewhere in connection with K.U.Leuven researchers
- Proposes procedural adjustments if necessary
- Proposes norms concerning academic integrity
- Studies questions relating to academic integrity on its own initiative, or when asked by the Research Policy Board, the Executive Board, or the Academic Board
- Can make proposals for education and consciousness-raising concerning problematics arising in connection with academic integrity (e.g., seminars, programmes, possible research into the integrity problematic)
Reports of problems of the following type are within the authority of the commission:
Behaviour that is problematic regarding scientific integrity is behaviour in which the intellectual property or the contribution of others is improperly appropriated (plagiarized), data was fabricated or falsified, or wrongful conclusions have been consciously published. Behaviour that is problematic from the viewpoint of scientific integrity can appear in every phase of scientific research: in obtaining a subsidy, collecting data or formulating theories, developing software, executing experiments, manipulating, analysing, and publishing results, and judging others' project proposals or publications. From the viewpoint of scientific integrity, errors and mistakes that occur in good faith (honest mistakes) and differences of opinion are not labelled problematic.
Reports of problems of the following type are outside the authority of the commission and will be dealt with elsewhere:
- Issues of scientific ethics, which arise, for example on ethical review boards for experimentation involving human or animal subjects. In biomedical research these are often issues related patient-oriented research, such as ‘informed consent’ and the use of patient materials. These are adequately covered by the ethical review boards.
- Issues related to the property rights associated with scientific discoveries and their application, such as patent disputes or conflicts of interest with respect to spin-offs. These are covered by separate regulations and/or there is a procedure through LRD.
- Problems between students and instructors, also within the framework of the master’s thesis (Examination Committee ombudsperson)
- Problems between a PhD student and the doctoral research supervisor, and which are related with the task of the supervisor as advisor (Doctoral Advisory Committees ombudsperson)
