Good Scientific Practice

As an international research university, the University of Tübingen expects its researchers to adhere to established standards of good scientific practice. Violations of these standards can not only destroy the reputation of the responsible researcher, but can also seriously damage the reputation of our university.

In order to ensure good scientific practice and to handle scientific misconduct, the University of Tübingen has implemented guidelines and established processes and support services.

The University of Tübingen has appointed a number of ombudspersons for good scientific practice to whom their members and employees can turn with questions relating to good scientific practice and cases of suspected misconduct. As neutral and qualified contact persons, they contribute to solution-oriented conflict mediation where possible. Ombudspersons maintain confidentiality in dealing with queries and, if necessary, notify the responsible body at their institution in the event of suspected cases of misconduct. Apart from the ombudspersons for good scientific practice, the University has also appointed ombudspersons for issues arising during the doctoral phase. They can, for example, be contacted in case of conflict between doctoral candidate and supervisor.

The German Rectors' Conference (HRK), the German Research Foundation, the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat), and the National Academy of Sciences and Humanities Leopoldina have expressed their views on good scientific practice and scientific misconduct in several position papers.

Please contact one of the ombudspersons for good scientific practice if you are a member of the university and suspect or wish to report scientific misconduct or violations of good scientific practice. The ombudspersons are sworn to absolute secrecy and are independent in the performance of their duties. The ombudsperson in question will examine the significance of this suspicion of academic misconduct in detail with regard to the plausibility of these accusations. Justified cases will be passed on to the Commission for the Investigation of Misconduct in Science.

For details see the University of Tübingen's rules of procedure for dealing with academic misconduct (2018 version).

The ombudspersons mentioned above are first and foremost there to address questions regarding good scientific practice and issues of suspected scientific misconduct. Beyond that, cases may arise which are not necessarily covered by the University’s rules of procedure for dealing with misconduct in science or by any other established procedures at the University. This includes attacks on academics, for example due to public statements or because of research and/or methods regarded as undesirable.

In such cases, University of Tübingen academics may contact the one of the ombudspersons. This is intended as an easy-access first stop within the affected academic’s respective field. In the case of serious attacks that may constitute a criminal offence (threat, insult, physical violence), the person concerned should also contact the police and inform the University President’s Office.

In addition, there is a Committee for Conflict Mediation at the University of Tübingen, which can be called upon primarily in the event of conflicts between employees or between employees and students of the University. The members of the committee provide advisory support to prevent conflicts or to defuse existing conflicts.