Good scientific practice
FAU believes that storing and managing research data is crucial for successful, sustainable research and scientific integrity. It is essential that research data are handled responsibly and methodically. If the University, its members and the general public are to benefit, this must not only be encouraged but also made a requirement, and it is important to raise awareness of research data and FAIR principles in the long term.
Research integrity: Publications, data and ethical standards
Rules and regulations for ensuring good scientific practice
Through its legal obligations, FAU is responsible for ensuring good scientific practice in research and teaching. FAU has therefore developed regulations based on the recommendations of the German Research Foundation. In spite of the differences between the research disciplines, these guidelines provide guidance on good scientific practice across the board.
For doctoral degrees at FAU
We strongly recommend that the doctoral candidate and their supervisor sign a supervision agreement, and many areas within FAU have accepted this as common practice.
The benefits of signing an agreement such as this are clear. It helps both parties in the supervision relationship clarify their rights, obligations and expectations during a meeting and agree on the details which should apply in each individual case. This helps avoid misunderstandings and forms the basis for a fruitful cooperation.
- Template for supervision agreements including a checklist for the meeting between doctoral candidates and their supervisor. This ensures that the supervision agreement provides structured documentation of the agreements reached during this meeting.
- Supervision agreement for the Faculty of Medicine.
- Supervision agreement for the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology
- We also have a template for doctoral degrees in cooperation with an industrial partner.
According to the Regulations for safeguarding good scientific practice and dealing with scientific misconduct at FAU, individual and third-party preparatory work must be fully and correctly cited (Section 6). This of course also applies to results, content or figures from the individual’s own preparatory work/publications which are used in doctoral theses. In principle, these should be referenced or cited in just the same way as work from other scientists or scholars in accordance with the standards applicable to the subject in question.
Helpful information about avoiding self-plagiarism can be found in the information sheet from the Graduate Center.