Auditors tell academia to shape up on ethics

Norwegian universities are failing to comply with a four-year-old research-ethics act

A Norwegian government watchdog has taken a critical look at a 2017 law on research ethics and how it has been implemented by research institutions. Its conclusion in short: not good enough.

The criticism comes in three areas. Researchers do not get enough training on ethics such as plagiarism and fraud, guidelines are not clear enough, and there is unsatisfactory reporting to the national committee on ethics in science, says the country’s Office of the Auditor General (Riksrevisjonen).