Commitment to responsible marine research

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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).

Scientific projects engaged in investigating the sea, marine ecosystems and the geology of ocean basins rely on the use of research vessels, various measuring technologies and sampling, even though these can potentially have a negative impact on the local environment themselves. Marine researchers therefore have a particular responsibility to ensure that their research activities do as little as possible to contribute to marine pollution and the disruption of sensitive marine ecosystems. German marine research has issued a voluntary commitment in which it sets out the key principles of responsible marine research: these are recognised as binding when submitting a cruise proposal. The implementation of methodological aspects based on this voluntary commitment is taken into account in the review process.

Cruise Proposal Preparation Instructions(externer Link)

Commitment to responsible marine research

Professional ethics

Legal and ethical frameworks, usage rights

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Commitment to responsible marine research

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