FAPESP releases Code of Good Scientific Practices

FAPESP released the Código de Boas Práticas Científicas [Code of Good Scientific Practices] with the intention of reinforcing a solid and well-rooted culture of ethical research integrity in the São Paulo scientific community through a set of strategies based on three pillars: education, prevention and fair and rigorous investigation and sanctions.

By Fábio de Castro

Agência FAPESP – On September 27, FAPESP released the Código de Boas Práticas Científicas [Code of Good Scientific Practices] with the intention of reinforcing a solid and well-rooted culture of ethical research integrity in the São Paulo scientific community through a set of strategies based on three pillars: education, prevention and fair and rigorous investigation and sanctions.

The document establishes ethical guidelines for scientific activity for researchers that receive FAPESP Fellowships and Funding. The guidelines are also applicable to the institutions where the research takes place and to periodicals that receive funding from the Foundation for publication.

“Since it was founded nearly 50 years ago, FAPESP’s actions are guided by the competence and quality of the projects and researchers. As the years passed, the number of projects and researchers increased greatly and it became necessary to make these criteria explicit so as to guide conduct in the scientific activities,” said Celso Lafer, president of FAPESP.

According to Lafer, the Code does not deal with questions like bioethics, which go through a different evaluation process. In cases that involve bioethics, FAPESP only approves projects that have gone through analysis by the ethics commissions of their respective research institutions, which have their own regulations regarding the topic. 

“Scientific research is not limited to the discovery of new knowledge, but also involves the idea that it is necessary to preserve the values of knowledge and the scientific quality of results in the field of research. It is important to offer a concrete reference to distinguish these values from unacceptable practices like fabricating results or plagiarism,” he said.

Lafer noted that the Code is coherent with FAPESP’s internationalization initiative. “Good scientific practices are a concern we encounter in other countries and partner institutions,” he said.

The project of building the Code began a year ago due to concern from the FAPESP Scientific Board of Directors and the Technical-Administrative Council’s interest in the topic. “After the first discussions, a study was made to understand how the question is dealt with in nations with longstanding scientific traditions,” he said.

The study was performed by a member of the FAPESP Scientific Board of Directors’ coordination assistant, Luiz Henrique Lopes dos Santos, professor in the Philosophy Department on the School of Philosophy, Letters and Humanities at Universidade de São Paulo (USP). The study led to the article Sobre a integridade ética da pesquisa [On ethical research integrity], finished in April, and which was the embryo of the Code of Good Practices.

“The Code was also evaluated together with other jurisdictions of the national science community such as the Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência [Brazilian Society for Scientific Progress] and the Academia Brasileira de Ciências [Brazilian Academy of Sciences],” said Lafer.

Tripod of ethics

According to Brito Cruz, analysis of experiences overseas provided a learning process that was consolidated in the new Code. The principal aspect of this process is that the strategy for development of a culture of good scientific practices rests on three pillars: education, prevention and fair and rigorous investigation and sanctions.

“Many times the discussion only comes up when it comes to investigation and sanctions related to ethical slip-ups. But we need to pay attention to the education of the scientific community—especially the young people—on these good practices and to the prevention characterized by the researcher’s orientation every time there are doubts on the subject,” he affirmed.

According to Brito Cruz, in the field of education scientific institutions that receive FAPESP financing will be given incentive to periodically organize training sessions and courses touching on the question of good practices.

“In the same way, in the field of prevention, FAPESP hopes that institutions organize internal services—according to their cultures and traditions—in order to offer orientation to researchers on this topic. If they have this resource, they will know whom to consult when there are doubts and concerns related to the subject,” he affirmed.

At the same time, in the Code FAPESP establishes the appropriate procedures for when a case related to poor conduct in research reaches the point of calling for an investigation. The procedure will have an initial confidential internal phase in order to verify any allegations and to protect those involved who may be innocent.

Brito Cruz affirmed that one of FAPESP’s expectations is that the Code helps institutions financed by the Foundation to debate the topic of good practices with their communities in a more intense manner. According to him, it is important that the topic always be present in discussions involving both experienced researchers and young post-graduates.

“In order to facilitate the scientific community’s access to the Code, in addition to print publication, we created a FAPESP portal that brings together the Code, the article it sprung from and a series of links to many different international experiences like manuals, analyses and general references that deal with the topic,” said Brito Cruz.

The links include the online version of the book On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research Third Edition (2009), a document on responsible science elaborated by the United States’ National Academy of Sciences.

“FAPESP is translating this work to Portuguese. A print version will be sent together with the Code of Good Practices to all researchers and scholarship winners that signed a contract with FAPESP,” he said.

FAPESP – Boas práticas científicas: www.fapesp.br/boaspraticas