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Responsible science and research

We are fully committed to the principles of open science and conduct ethically sustainable and responsible research.

Open Science

Open science and research are key methods to promote responsible science and increase the visibility and impact of science in society. Open science practices foster collaboration and innovation, ensuring that research results can be utilised in decision-making and in solving the challenges of the world of today and tomorrow.

On this page, you will find information on how the University of Vaasa promotes responsible research and open science.

Open science at the University of Vaasa

At the University of Vaasa, we comply with good scientific practice and Finnish law, as well as national and international recommendations concerning open science. The university will monitor and evaluate the level and development of open science.

Responsible open science is an essential part of our scientific activities. It encompasses scientific publications, research materials, research methods and research culture. Open science supports the dissemination and impact of scientific research within the scientific community and society at large.

Open publication of research results and materials increases the visibility and impact of research. References to publications and materials contribute to a researcher's academic merits. Opening up and communicating about the research process and methods enchances the credibility and visibility of the research. This visibility opens new opportunities for collaboration between researchers and for profiling the university.

The University of Vaasa's Open Science Implementation Plan complements the Open Science Policy and Principles document. The implementation plan includes practical guidelines for researchers concerning open science practices and identifies the parties responsible for various areas of open science. 

The principles of open science have been further specified in the principles of Open Education and Open Educational Resources and the University of Vaasa Data Policy, which were adopted during the summer of 2024 and are available to personnel on the intranet.

  • The University of Vaasa requires its researchers to publish openly whenever possible. Researchers' scientific publications (articles, chapters in books, monographs, conference publications, etc.) are made open access by parallel storage in the publication archive Osuva and by publishing them in Open Access publication channels. Hybrid open access publication is also possible as an interim solution toward full open access publication. The University allocates funds to cover the costs related to publication and openness.
  • Doctoral dissertations, licentiate theses, Bachelor's and Master’s theses are published in electronic format in the University of Vaasa's publication archive Osuva. As part of the supervision process, the supervisor must ensure that this is possible. In the case of dissertations, in particular, the supervisor must ensure that the articles/essays or monograph that comprise the dissertation can be openly published.
  • The University encourages its researchers to communicate about their research more extensively than just through traditional channels, for example in professional publications or on social media.
  • The University of Vaasa's researchers should obtain an international ORCID researcher identifier to help identify their scientific activities and increase their visibility.
  • The University of Vaasa encourages its researchers to publish their research data and methods openly in accordance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
  • When opening research data, confidentiality, privacy and data security are taken into account. Furthermore, laws, decrees and agreements impact the opening of research data. Issues relating to the ownership and copyright of the data are agreed upon in research projects.
  • We also encourage the opening up of research methods, including algorithms used and publishing the generated code as open source.
  • After the completion of a study or research project, national services, such as the Fairdata services and the Finnish Social Science Data Archive, are utilised in the publication and long-term storage of research data.

In accordance with the strategy of the University of Vaasa, our goal is to establish ourselves as an esteemed participant within local and global innovation networks and to collaborate with exceptional international academic research partners. We operate and create value as part of an ecosystem. In addition to digital interactions and personal connections, our campus, renovated into a modern meeting place, brings together academics, citizens, companies, and partners. All this promotes the openness of our research infrastructure and thus the realisation of open science.

The University of Vaasa takes the perspectives of open science into account when building the career paths of researchers and assessing their merits.

In addition to the areas of open science and research, the University of Vaasa supports and develops the openness and accessibility of learning and learning materials.

The University of Vaasa and the science library Tritonia offer training and support related to open science.

  • Further information about open science: openscience@uwasa.fi

Open publications archive Osuva

Osuva is the open publications archive of University of Vaasa. Osuva includes publications, theses and parallel publications of scholarly articles at University of Vaasa. Osuva includes references, abstracts and full text of the publications.

Search publications (Osuva open publications archive)
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We are committed to responsible research assessment

The University of Vaasa has joined CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment), a European coalition dedicated to advancing research assessment.
Additionally, the University of Vaasa has signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), committing to responsible and fair assessment of researchers and research.
CoARA
Dora Declaration

Good scientific practise and research ethics

The University of Vaasa is committed to The Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and Procedures for Handling Alleged Violations of Research Integrity in Finland (pdf) (the RI guidelines), published by the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK, which is appointed by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland. These guidelines have been drafted in cooperation with the Finnish research community.

The objective is to promote the responsible conduct of research (in Finnish hyvä tieteellinen käytäntö) while ensuring that alleged violations are handled with competence, fairness and expediency.

The university is committed to following The ethical principles of the humanities, social sciences and behavioural sciences in all its operations.

The TENK website defines a researcher's professional skills as follows: "A researcher's professionalism can be divided into the management of the knowledge and research methods required by each discipline and professional integrity, which together constitute good scientific practice. The entire scientific community is responsible for following good scientific practices."

The University of Vaasa has also confirmed its own Ethical guidelines, which outline the goals and activities for an ethically sustainable study, research and administrative culture within the scientific community. An open learning area for research ethics is available to all the researchers at the University of Vaasa. Additionally, the Graduate School offers courses on research ethics as part of doctoral training.

Further information:

Virpi Juppo

Virpi Juppo

Development Manager
University Services, HR and Executive Services
firstname.lastname@uwasa.fi
+358294498111
Torni 5. floor
Open profile page

University of Vaasa as the research object: Apply for a research permit

For all scientific research projects or data collection targeting the University of Vaasa, you must apply for permission to carry out the research with this e-form. You need to attach the research plan that describes the intent of the research, methods and data management. This applies to researchers, teachers and students of the University of Vaasa. 

You must request permission before starting data collection. Certain research settings may require an ethical review, which must be completed before applying for the research permit. 

If your research involves private or personal information, you should include a privacy notice with the permission form. Researchers must follow general data protection regulations, laws and good scientific practice. 

Permits are granted by the vice rector of research.

Further information:

Tiina Leposky

Tiina Leposky

Senior Specialist in Research Funding
University Services, Research Services and Graduate School
firstname.lastname@uwasa.fi
+358294498617
Ankkuri 1. floor
Open profile page