Ethical principles and guidelines in the engineering sciences

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Researchers are responsible for putting the fundamental values and norms of research into practice and advocating for them. Education in the principles of good research begins at the earliest possible stage in academic teaching and research training. Researchers at all career levels regularly update their knowledge about the standards of good research practice and the current state of the art.

Experienced and early career researchers support each other in a process of continuous mutual learning and ongoing training and maintain a regular dialogue.

Researchers adopt a responsible approach to the constitutionally guar- anteed freedom of research. They comply with rights and obligations, particularly those arising from legal requirements and contracts with third parties, and where necessary seek approvals and ethics statements and present these when required. With regard to research projects, the potential consequences of the research should be evaluated in detail and the ethical aspects should be assessed. The legal framework of a research project includes documented agreements on usage rights relating to data and results generated by the project.

Researchers maintain a continual awareness of the risks associated with the misuse of research results. Their responsibility is not limited to compliance with legal requirements but also includes an obligation to use their knowledge, experience and skills such that risks can be recognised, assessed and evaluated. They pay particular attention to the aspects associated with security-relevant research (dual use). HEIs and non-HEI research institutions are responsible for ensuring that their members’ and employees’ actions comply with regulations and promote this through suitable organisational structures. They develop binding ethical guidance and policies and define procedures to assess ethical issues relating to research projects.

Where possible and practicable, researchers conclude documented agreements on usage rights at the earliest possible point in a research project. Documented agreements are especially useful when multiple academic and/or non-academic institutions are involved in a research project or when it is likely that a researcher will move to a different institution and continue using the data he or she generated for his or her own research purposes. In particular, the researcher who collected the data is entitled to use them. During a research project, those entitled to use the data decide whether third parties should have access to them (subject to data protection regulations).

In the field of engineering sciences, some organisations have defined ethical standards. These include the following:

the Association of German Engineers (VDI) in its publication „Ethische Grundsätze des Ingenieurberufes“ (‘Ethical Principles of the Engineering Profession’ – 2002(externer Link), in German only)
the German Informatics Society (GI) through its specialist group ‘Informatics and Ethics’ and its ‘Ethical Guidelines of the German Informatics Society’(externer Link), formulated by the Society and adopted by the GI Board in 2018
acatech project „Verantwortung in den Technikwissenschaften“ (‘Responsibility in the Engineering Sciences’(externer Link) – 07/2018 to 12/2020)

Ethical principles and guidelines in the engineering sciences

Professional ethics

Legal and ethical frameworks, usage rights

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Ethical principles and guidelines in the engineering sciences

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