The person requesting a statement had made a written notification regarding an alleged GSP violation in a textbook published jointly by a university professor and a researcher. The textbook was based on a research project in the field of business science at that university. The university in question did not launch a GSP investigation process on the basis of this allegation because it considered the work to be of a general nature rather than an independent scientific study, in addition to which it was not included in the university’s publication series.
The Advisory Board took the view that the university’s grounds for not launching a preliminary inquiry were erroneous. The demands of good scientific practice apply also to textbooks, which are based on research. The Board therefore thought that a preliminary inquiry, focused on research-ethical questions, should be conducted on this matter.