Request for a statement from TENK

Last updated 22.4.2024

Alleged violations of research integrity are always investigated in the organisation where the suspected violation occurred or where the suspected researcher acted when it occurred. After the suspicion has first been addressed in the organisation's process of handling alleged violations of research integrity, i.e. the RI process, the parties may request a statement on the matter from the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK.

TENK’s statement on the matter is based on the The Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and Procedures for Handling Alleged Violations of  Research Integrity in Finland 2023 (PDF) guide, to which Finnish research organisation are committed. The organisation's commitment obliges the persons working in its research community to comply with the instructions and the organisation to investigate alleged violations reported to it.

More detailed information on the RI process and how to submit a request for a statement can be found in the research integrity guidelines (PDF). The RI guideline is available in Finnish (PDF), Swedish (PDF) and English (PDF). The 2023 guideline and its earlier versions can be found on the Advice and materials page.

Who can request a statement from TENK?

If the complainant or the respondent is dissatisfied with the outcomes of the preliminary inquiry or the investigation proper, they may request a statement from TENK. Statement may be requested by the complainant or the respondent if the said party is dissatisfied with:

  • the decision of the head of the organisation to terminate the RI process,
  • the implementation of the preliminary inquiry or the investigation proper, or
  • conclusions of the investigation team reports.

Where there are several complainants or respondents, they may request an statement either jointly or independently.

This request must be justified and it must specify all the research integrity issues that the request concerns. The person requesting the statement must disclose what type of relation or involvement they may have in the case. TENK will not issue statements during an ongoing RI process.

When can a statement be requested?

A statement must be requested within 30 days of receiving the director’s decision.

TENK will not issue statements during an ongoing RI process.

TENK processes requests for a statement on the basis of the documents with which it has been provided. The requests are processed at the latest within five months following receipt of the request for a statement.

Statements are decided at TENK meetings. TENK meets 6–7 times a year.

N.B. Due to the large amount of requests for a statement, TENK's processing times for statements may currently exceed the target period of five months. (19.3.2024)

What happens after requesting a statement?

Once TENK has received the request for a statement, it will request responses from the parties concerned and the organisation that carried out the investigation. The person requesting a statement has the opportunity to comment on these responses.

TENK will issue its opinion on the basis of the documents and responses submitted to it. TENK does not carry out any further research on the matter itself or organise hearings.

The statement issued by TENK is sent to both the person requesting the statement and the organisation's director and other interested parties, including the organisation's Research Integrity Adviser. 

Penalties for a detected RI violation fall outside the authority of TENK. The decision on the possible consequences of the act is made by the head of the investigating or financial organisation [see section 5.4. of the RI process for further details (PDF)]. However, the RI guidelines oblige the parties concerned to inform them of the conclusions of the TENK statement [for further information, see section 5.3. of the RI process (PDF)].

Sometimes no RI violation has been identified in the preliminary inquiry carried out by the organisation, but TENK considers that the possibility of an RI violation cannot be excluded. In this case, TENK can return the matter to the organisation for the proper RI investigation.

The request for a statement, its appendices and other documents forming part of the processing of the matter are public after the statement has been issued (with the exception of any information provided for as confidential by law). 

TENK does not publish its statements. Only case summaries are published on the TENK website, and the names of both parties and organisations have been removed from these summaries.

TENK can also decide not to issue a statement.

TENK's statement cannot be appealed.

On which matters can TENK provide an opinion or not provide an opinion?

TENK accepts requests for statements only when they concern a potential RI violation or the appropriate handling of the RI process in accordance with the RI Guidelines. The statements only comment on whether the investigation of the matter has been carried out in accordance with the The Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and Procedures for Handling Alleged Violations of  Research Integrity in Finland (PDF), and whether the code of conduct for research integrity has been violated.

TENK will not comment on for example the following, unless a question of compliance
with RI is also involved:

  • Differences of opinion in scholarly or artistic academic disputes, or differences of opinion between schools of thought
  • Legal issues, such as violations of the Copyright Act, Patents Act or Administrative Procedure Act or breaches of obligations of confidentiality
  • Employment disputes or problems in the work community
  • Hiring decisions and appointments
  • Questions of professional ethics
  • Evaluation processes and publishing decisions by scholarly publishers
  • Grades or evaluations of doctoral dissertations
  • Violations of discipline-specific ethical norms

TENK also does not comment on the causes or consequences of a potential RI violation in its statements.

How to request a statement?

  • A request for a statement must be entitled "request for a statement" and addressed to the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK (not personally to the Secretary General or the Chair).
  • The request for a statement must include the date and the name and contact details of the person making the request. Requests for a statement may not be made anonymously. 
  • A statement may only be requested regarding whether an RI process has been carried out in accordance with the RI guidelines (PDF) and whether research integrity has been violated from the point of view of the definitions in the RI guidelines.
  • The request for a statement must specify and justify all the questions that TENK is requested to comment on. In its statement, TENK only responds to the questions with which it has been presented. 
  • The request for a statement must be accompanied by 1) the notification of alleged RI violation, which initiated the RI process in the research organisation, and 2) a decision made by the rector or director in the matter and the related preliminary inquiry report or the final report of the investigation committee.
  • Other material central to the case that the person requesting a statement wishes TENK to be aware of may be appended to the request for a statement.
  • Appended documents must be numbered and referred to by these numbers in the text. If there are several appendices, a numbered list should be added at the end of the request for a statement.
  • The appended files must be named clearly, e.g. “Request for a statement SURNAME appendix 1”.
  • Note: The request for a statement with its appended documents is a public document once the statement has been issued.
  • A request for a statement should be sent to TENK electronically (e.g. as a PDF file) to the e-mail address tenk(at)tenk.fi. It is also possible to submit a request for a statement by post, see contact details.

Further information