The Research Integrity Barometer is a national survey on research integrity and good research practices in the research community in Finland. This page introduces the basis of the Research Integrity Barometer 2023, which is the second national barometer survey in Finland and charts the following topics:
- Skills and knowledge of research integrity and responsible conduct of research
- Sources of information on research integrity
- Observations of alleged research integrity violations
- Courses of action regarding alleged research integrity violations
- The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research integrity in Finland
The work was carried out by the secretariat of TENK. We welcome other research integrity actors to exploit this study design and questionnaire in their surveys. Please contact Anni Sairio (anni.sairio at tenk.fi).
The first Research Integrity Barometer was conducted as a pilot in 2018 in collaboration between TENK and researchers Ari Salminen and Lotta Pitkänen from the University of Vaasa. Due to TENK's information needs and the 2023 revision of the RI Guidelines, the survey for this barometer differs to some extent from the 2018 barometer.
Survey design
The survey was conducted as an anonymous e-questionnaire that could be answered in Finnish, Swedish, or English. LimeSurvey was used as the survey tool.
The questionnaire was distributed in March 2023 via email to all universities, universities of applied sciences, and research organisations in Finland that have committed to the Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and Procedures for Handling Alleged Violations of Research Integrity in Finland.
Responses were requested from research and teaching staff, research administration staff, and staff working in other research support services.
Data collection
Ethical review was not conducted, as the requirements for an ethical review in human sciences in Finland were not considered to be met. Research permits were applied for from the organisations that required them.
No direct or indirect personal data was collected in the survey. The questionnaire was carefully evaluated to ascertain that the chance of identifying individual respondents by connecting responses was practically nil. The survey data is stored on a secure server of the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. TENK is the data controller of the data, and only TENK's secretariat handled the data. With the exception of the responses to the open-ended questions, the data will be archived in the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD).
There was a total of 1,099 complete responses to the survey. The typical respondent was a university researcher with a doctoral degree, fewer than 10 years of career experience, and a degree completed in Finland. The results can be read in the barometer report (see below for Publications).
Steering group
A steering group was established to support the design of the work. The members included:
- Riitta Keiski (Chair), University of Oulu
- Teija-Kaisa Aholaakko, Laurea University of Applied Sciences
- Erika Löfström, University of Helsinki
- Janne Pölönen, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies
- Aleksi Tornio, University of Turku
- Risto Turunen, University of Eastern Finland
- Krista Varantola, University of Tampere
Publications
The report was published in TENK's publication series in Finnish in May 2024, and in English in November 2024. A summary in Swedish was published in November 2024. The survey questionnaire is included in the report.
- Report in Finnish: Tutkimusetiikkaa koronan aikaan: Tutkimusetiikan barometri 2023 (PDF)
- Report in English: Research Integrity in the Time of COVID-19: Finnish Research Integrity Barometer 2023 (PDF)
- Summary of the report in Swedish: Forskningsetik i coronatider: En sammanfattning av den forskningsetiska barometern 2023 i Finland (PDF)
For the 2018 barometer, see TENK's publication series:
- 2/2020: Ari Salminen & Lotta Pitkänen: Finnish Research Integrity Barometer 2018 (PDF)
- 3/2020: Ari Salminen & Lotta Pitkänen: Forskningsetiska barometern 2018 (PDF)
- 1/2019: Ari Salminen ja Lotta Pitkänen: Tutkimusyhteisöissä kaikki hyvin? Tutkimusetiikan barometri 2018 (PDF)
Contact
Contact Adviser Eero Kaila (eero.kaila at tenk.fi) on the following topics:
- technical solutions
- data analysis
- further research and application of the results
Contact Senior Coordinator Anni Sairio (anni.sairio at tenk.fi) on the following topics:
- survey design
- research permits and data protection
- data analysis
- translations
- production of the report
- further research and application of the results
On questions pertaining to the 2018 research integrity barometer, contact Anni Sairio.
