Researching responsibly at the University of Münster means complying with ethical and scientific standards and assuming social responsibility for one's actions. This includes following the rules of good scientific practice, providing transparency and ensuring the ethical treatment of animals in research and teaching.
Scientific work is grounded in commonly recognised and established principles. Honesty toward others and oneself is the most important of these. It represents the foundation of good scientific practice. One of the core tasks of the University of Münster is to impress the importance of good scientific practice on its students and researchers at an early stage. The “Rules of Good Scientific Practice”, issued by the University Senate, serve as the basis and are supplemented by the “Research Data Management Policy” and the “Guidelines for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Research and Teaching”.
The use of sentient animals in research and teaching represents an ethical challenge that deserves moral consideration for its own sake. Researchers and those affiliated with all other occupational groups that work directly or indirectly with animals in a research or teaching capacity must assume particular ethical responsibility for their actions. To this end, they can gain orientation from the following ethical guidelines issued by the University of Münster.