The German Political Science Association (Deutsche Vereinigung für Politikwissenschaft, DVPW) is the leading professional association for the promotion of political science research and teaching in Germany. The Ethics Committee is one of the association’s constitutional bodies.
Members of the DVPW can call upon the Ethics Committee with complaints about violations against good scientific practice, for example, disputes concerning plagiarism, co-authorships, or intellectual ownership. The Executive Board of the DVPW can also seek advice from the Ethics Committee. In most cases, the Committee seeks resolution through mediation, but it can also recommend formal sanctions to the Executive Board.
Mello: “I decided to run as a candidate especially to support young researchers like PhD candidates and postdocs whose positions are often tied to third-party funded research projects. These contexts can easily lead to conflict, for instance when there is no clear separation between a PhD candidate’s work and the research aims of the larger project or when expectations of co-authorships are not clear in advance. In such instances, the Ethics Committee may help to mediate conflicts between the involved parties.”
Mello is honoured to have been voted into the Ethics Committee. “I look forward to working with the other committee members to help solve and mediate conflicts among the scientific community. I also look forward to learning more about the “inner workings” of a professional association.”