About this portal

What is the third level of the DFG Code of Conduct Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice, and how are the contributions generated?

In its Code of Conduct Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice, the DFG sets out the overarching requirements that apply to research work. The General Assembly of the DFG adopted the text of the Guidelines (first level) and the associated Explanations (second level) in July 2019. According to the resolution passed by the General Assembly, these two levels must be incorporated in the internal regulations of research institutions and become legally binding for their employees and staff. In addition, the General Assembly tasked the DFG Head Office with creating a dynamic online portal that forms the third level of the Code. At this third level, the principles of research integrity are continuously developed, specified and commented upon by the research community, allowing for discipline-specific interpretation and refinement over time. This third level of the Code has now been established on the “Research Integrity” portal, which was launched in December 2020. An English version of the portal has also been available since July 2021.

What is the status of contributions published at the third level on the “Research Integrity” portal?

Unlike the first and second levels of the Code, the subject-specific texts, FAQs and case studies compiled at the third level are not legally binding and do not need to be transposed into institutional regulations by research organisations. Accordingly, they are not intended by the DFG to carry any normative weight. Rather, their purpose is to serve as a point of reference for the ongoing development of good research practice and its integration in researchers’ day-to-day professional lives, drawing on best practices from across the research community. The content published on the “Research Integrity” portal is continuously developed, quality-assured, and updated in response to changes in research practice. In this way, the portal provides a living reference resource on the principles and challenges of good research practice.

How  are contributions to the “Research Integrity” portal made?

Contributions to the portal come from across the research system: from researchers at all career levels as well as from research management, and also from other experts in the field of good research practice.

So you are cordially invited to submit suggestions for text contributions to the third level!

If you wish to submit text suggestions, please use the submission form provided. Contributions, ideas, requests and questions can be sent to: redaktionskonferenz@dfg.de, or else consult the members of the “Research Integrity” team.

The length and type of content published on the portal may vary: some contributions provide brief references to external sources, while others offer editorially prepared explanations of specific issues directly on the portal itself. Once your suggestion has been submitted, it is reviewed by the editorial board at the DFG Head Office, and you will receive feedback on the next steps. The editorial board’s key task is to ensure that any text suggestions are consistent with the official wording of the Code of Conduct and with existing published content. The editorial board is made up of representatives of the responsible Scientific Affairs division, Department III, the “Research Integrity” team and the Press and Public Relations division at the DFG Head Office.

Please note that texts should ideally not exceed a length of 700 words. You can use the submission form to include references or link to further information