Principles for research ethics

Premises

• Ethical concerns are likely to be common in most Stocholm Resilience Centre research – and they require deliberate, thoughtful attention.
• Research ethics are dynamic, not rigidly fixed. These principles mark out a general framework for how we should work, but ethical working will always involve decisions about exactly what we should do in a particular context. A clear procedure for making those decisions is an important complement to these principles.
• Ethical attention is needed throughout the whole research process, from the first development of a research idea, through the planning and execution, to the eventual evaluation and impacts of the completed project.
• Everyone is individually responsible for ensuring that their research is carried out ethically. At the same time, research ethics involve normative choices, so ethical principles should be seen as part of a culture of sharing, debate and mutual learning.
• Research ethics closely link to many other issues related to scientific responsibility. These principles should be seen as complementary to specific guidance on issues such as intellectual property rights, data protection, career-long professional development, staff management, and the equality and diversity agenda.
• Ethical practice should be informed by the overarching structures and guidelines including the Swedish and European laws on research ethics and data privacy, ethical review boards (Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Etikprövningsmyndigheten)), legal and other support services at SU, general (e.g. Vetenskaps Rådet’s (VR) ‘Good Research Practise) and specific disciplinary guidelines and the Stocholm Resilience Centre’s Research Ethics Committee.

Stockholm Resilience Centre research ethics principles:

I. In our own work

• Researchers should meet all obligations and institutional and legal requirements relating to their project including relevant Swedish laws. If in doubt, the most rigorous standards and the most comprehensive procedures should be applied.
• Researchers should endeavour to ensure that their research is factually accurate. Falsification, fabrication, suppression and misinterpretation of data are unacceptable. Appropriate protocols for data collection, analysis, management and dissemination should be put in place and followed to ensure the integrity of research findings and their subsequent use.
• Data should be stored and archived using safe and reliable storage. Researchers should strive for data openness while respecting legal and ethical obligations to privacy and integrity towards research participants.
• Researchers should choose their methods based on informed professional expertise. This includes ensuring that the whole research team has the necessary professional expertise and support. Where there are ethical challenges in the proposed research approach, the debate should be broadened early on and make use of support functions at SRC and SU.
• Researchers should pay attention to and respect social differences. Research should be designed and conducted with respect for gender differences, and for all groups in society. Special effort should be taken to avoid marginalisation or exclusion of under-represented social groups. This attention should include the use of language, the way people are included and treated in the research process, and the potential impacts of the research on different social groups.
• Researchers should strive to make a clear distinction between their academic engagement and personal convictions relating to their research topic. Independence, integrity and the discipline of intellectual detachment throughout the research process are all important for the credibility of research outcomes.
• Researchers should respect intellectual property during research, including the allocation of authorship and avoiding plagiarism ‒ self-plagiarism included (according to SRC policy on self-plagiarism).

II. In our relationship with others

• Researchers should respect the rights, privacy and safety of research subjects, at all stages from initial design to final dissemination. This involves reflection on the consequences of research engagement for all participants, and deliberate attention to protocols that protect confidentiality and anonymity.
• Researchers should seek to ensure that participation in research is voluntary. Decisions about participation should be informed, and participants should know that they are able to withdraw from a study at any stage.
• Researchers should create fair and transparent agreements before the project starts. This includes the transparent negotiation of intellectual property rights and copyright agreements.
• Researchers should disclose actual but also potentially perceived conflicts of interest. Unwarranted material gains or losses from the research process for anyone involved could influence the outcome of a study or lead to unacceptable unequal treatment of participants. Any potential conflicts should be disclosed.
• Researchers should be open about the research methodology and findings. This may involve addressing concerns expressed by research stakeholders and users or by other researchers. It also involves acknowledging all contributors to the research, including any debts to previous research that has served as a source of knowledge, data, or conceptual approach.
• Researchers have a duty of care for people potentially impacted by their research activities. These include students, research assistants, field assistants and research participants as well as researchers themselves. Risks should be proactively assessed, and mitigated to an acceptable level.

III. In the places where we work

• Researchers should address local perspectives and interests properly. This involves considering the value and relevance of local knowledge and its relationship to academic approaches and methods.
• Researchers should consider the sustainability context of their research. Research should benefit society and minimise social and ecological harm in the long term, and not just for the here and now.
• Researchers should assess and minimise the negative impacts and maximise the positive benefits of their work. This includes the environmental impact of everyday activities, people’s exposure to new risks, and the welfare of living beings affected by the work.