Research Ethics

The scholarly and academic freedom that we benefit from in Norway requires that the research society and research and higher education institutions established ethical guidelines for research. The Norwegian Act on Universities and University Colleges §1 (5. paragraph) on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility states that "Universities and university colleges must advance and protect the academic freedomThe institutions have a responsibility to ensure that teaching, research, and professional and artistic development work maintain a high academic standard and are conducted in accordance with recognized scientific, artistic, pedagogical, and ethical principles".

The increased focus on research ethics work at the University of Bergen (UiB) has engendered a university-wide portal on research ethics, where one can find good and updated advice on ethical issues in both research projects, doctoral work, and student assignments. Here, there is also an overview of courses, training, and studies in research ethics at UiB. UiB also has 10 ethical rules for research from 2006, which can be found in the regulations collection at UiB here: 10 ethical rules for research at the University of Bergen.

The university and faculties are responsible for handling cases of possible and suspected violations of recognized research ethical norms. Cases of a more serious nature that involve suspicion of scientific misconduct shall be investigated by the local committee on research integrity at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design (KMD) before possibly being forwarded to the central committee on research integrity at UiB for further assessment.

All faculties at the University of Bergen (UiB) have local research ethics committees. These committees are tasked with strengthening the university's efforts to detect, handle, and report potential breaches of recognized research ethical standards. The committee must have the necessary expertise in research and research ethics and is responsible for investigating cases where scientific misconduct is suspected.

"Scientific misconduct refers to fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and other serious breaches of recognized research ethical standards committed intentionally or through gross negligence in the planning, execution, or reporting of research" (Research Ethics Act §8).

The Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design (KMD) established its local research ethics committee on September 7, 2023. The committee will serve until July 31, 2025. The committee members are:

• Jostein Gundersen (Chair and Vice Dean for Research, Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design).
• Ashley Booth (Professor, Department of Design).
• Claire Ghetti (Professor, Grieg Academy - Department of Music).
• Anne-Helen Mydland (Professor, Academy of Fine Art - Department of Contemporary Art).

Reports of potential breaches of recognized research ethical standards should be submitted to the head of the relevant department. Alternatively, they can be reported anonymously using a reporting form available for all employees at the University of Bergen.

Act relating to universities and university colleges

Research Ethics Act

Act relating to the processing of personal data (The Personal Data Act)

Act on Intellectual Property (Ånsdverksloven)

Act on medical research (Helseforskningsloven).

The national research ethics committees are tasked with ensuring that research conducted under public and private auspices adheres to recognized ethical standards. They achieve this through preventive work, advisory services, decisions, and the investigation of individual cases of potential research misconduct. Here, you will find materials about the committees and subject-specific guidelines.

The work of the committees is anchored in the Regulations on Research Ethics Committees and Committees (Forskningsetikkforskriften).

The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity is a common framework for all scientific disciplines, developed by ALLEA – All European Academies in 2017.

UiB has developed a privacy portal which can be visited here. Research projects and student assignments that collect and store personal data must be reported in UiB Rette. The processing of personal data in connection with scientific research projects, student assignments, and quality assurance and development projects must be registered in UiB's system for the overview, risk assessment and compliance with GDPR legislation: RETTE: RETTE - UiB portal for the registration of research projects. 

Guidance for registering "Contact Information" in RETTE:

Created by: PhD candidate

Project manager: main supervisor*

Responsible unit: Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design -> Department of Design, the Art Academy or the Grieg Academy

As a supervisor, you have an additional responsibility to ensure that all parts of the project follow research ethical guidelines and that participants in the project are treated in an appropriate manner. Therefore, the main supervisor is listed as the project manager in RETTE.

Research ethics (presentasjon fra veilederseminar på KMD, 2024)

Research integrity and challenges for project leaders (Anne Helen Mydland and Nina Malterud, 2020)

Aslaug Nyrnes (professor 2 at KMD and professor at HVL):The Ethics of Text Work in Research (2020)

Jostein Gundersen, visedekan for forskning ved KMD og førsteamanuensis:Map Ethics! A method for identifying and addressing ethical dimensions of artistic research projects (Gundersen, Malterud, Mydland, Nyrnes, Sveen). 

Map Ethics! Proposal for workshop format at PhD level with a non-normative approach to ethical issues, and several texts about ethics in artistic research.

This is the result of KMD’s work package in the Erasmus+ project Advancing Supervision for Artistic Research Doctorates.

Link to presentation of Map Ethics in Research Catalogue