Scientific Integrity (Online)

Please note: This online course is only for those PhD candidates who are doing their PhDs outside of the Groningen area (e.g. living in another city or abroad). For the onsite course, see 'Scientific Integrity'.

Course description:

This course is designed to strengthen your own research with the highest quality standards for responsible-conduct-of-research (RCR). The course has two parts, which are both needed to successfully complete the course (in this order):

1. A self-paced online self-study module (7-8h), which contains realistic PhD scenarios coupled with short reflective assignments. The themes covered in the module are: (i) academic quality, (ii) authorship, (iii) social safety, (iv) property and data sharing. A tip: Do not leave the completion of the self-study module to the last minute. If you haven't uploaded the certificate on Hora Finita 1 week before the tutorial, you will be automatically deregistered from the course.
2. An interactive online tutorial (3h, from 9:00 to 12:00). In small groups, you will critically discuss real-world case studies with your peers. Moreover, you will apply theoretical concepts and principles from professional codes-of-conduct and from the online learning module.

Preparation:

1. Please complete the online self-study module 1 week before the onsite tutorial the latest (see instructions below). A tip: Do not leave the completion to the last minute. Anyone who hasn't completed the self-study by deadline will be automatically deregistered from the course.
2. Add the course 'Scientific Integrity' in your Hora Finita training activities. However, do not add any ECTS - GSSE will do that once you've completed both the self-study and the tutorial.
3. Read the material sent by the course instructor ~1 week before the tutorial.

Online self-study (before the online tutorial)

• You can find the online self-study module here: Responsible Conduct of Research (Utrecht University).
• As of September 2025, Coursera no longer provides an official certificate for the online self-study. To complete the course and verify your completion, we'd like to ask you to do the following:
  • Sign up for Coursera and enrol for the course for free. Complete all the modules and assignments.
  • After completing the course, send an email to phd-academy.fse@rug.nl, titled 'Scientific Integrity: self-study'. Include your name, P number, a screenshot of the completed modules, as well as the final assignment (6.1.2; your own submission, not your peer review) either as a .docx or .pdf. Do this 1 week before the tutorial the latest.

Learning goals:

• You will be able to recognize issues, such as questionable practices and/or misconduct in well-known affairs from research practice
• You will gain the skills to suggest and explain a substantiated and weighed ethical course of action with reference to existing safeguards