Research Integrity and Responsible Scholarship

Lecture 2: In practice

May 21, 2015René Bekkers

Graduate School of Social SciencesVU University Amsterdam

About this list of behaviors

• How ‘bad’ is it? Ideal – FFP• In which phase does it happen?

• Suppose we would ask: • “How often have you seen this

happen?”• “How often have you committed

this?”

Where does this case fit?

Integrity in Five Research Phases

Funds

Ideas

DataPaper

Press

Course objectives

C.S. Lewis

“Doing the right thing even when

no one is watching”.

Integrity contraventions

a. falsification of datab. inputting fictitious datac. secretly rejecting research resultsd. deliberately misusing (statistical) methodse. deliberately misinterpreting resultsf. plagiarizing (parts of) other people’s publications

and resultsg. wrongly presenting oneself as a co-authorh. deliberately ignoring or failing to credit other’s

contributions i. culpable lack of scrupulousness when carrying out

research

Forms of market regulation

• Complete freedom: no regulation at all.

• Self-regulation: traders make their own rules and enforcement system.

• Legal regulation: a law prescribes the rules.

• Mixed forms are also possible.

Market features

• Guilds: masters, servants, and slaves.• Closed markets: driver’s license required.• Rescue services: fire brigades and first aid• Policing: border patrol and punishment.• Doping agency: illegal drugs and detection

methods.• Incentives: costs and benefits of violations.

Codes of conduct

• Self-regulation: let professionals judge among themselves

• Potentially conflicting loyalties with multiple stakeholders: university associations, professional associations, academic publishers, journal editors, funders, university policy

• The general public and the Ministry of Science do not impose rules (yet)

Fostering Integrity

Info

Reflect

Pledge

Practice

Check

Punish

This course

New Faculty Policy

May never happen

Codes of conduct

1. International2. Disciplinary3. European4. National5. University6. Faculty

Codes of conduct and policy

• ESF/ALLEA: umbrella organization for science funders, researchers, academies

• VSNU: university association• APA: professional association• COPE: journal editors• EC, foundations: funders• VU Amsterdam: university policy• Faculty of Social Science: faculty policy

ESF / ALLEA code

• “It is a canon for self-regulation, not a body of law.”

• “It is not intended to replace existing national or academic guidelines, but to represent Europe-wide agreement on a set of principles and priorities for the research community.”

ESF / ALLEA code

1. honesty in communication;2. reliability in performing research;3. objectivity: capable of proof and review4. impartiality and independence: from interests5. openness and accessibility: of data6. duty of care: with respect to participants7. fairness: providing references and giving credit,

treating colleagues with honesty8. responsibility for the scientists and researchers

of the future: mentorship and supervision

Integrity in Five Research Phases

Funds

Ideas

DataPaper

Press 7: Fairness1: Honesty

4: Impartiality

6: Duty of care2: Reliability3: Objectivity5: Openness

7: Fairness

Values of the VSNU code

1. Scrupulousness2. Reliability

3. Verifiability4. Impartiality

5. Independence

VSNU ESF/ALLEA

1. Scrupulousness Scientific activities are performed scrupulously, unaffected by mounting pressure to achieve.

6. Duty of care7. Fairness

2. Reliability …A scientific practitioner is reliable in the performance of his research and in the reporting, and equally in the transfer of knowledge through teaching and publication.

2. Reliability1. Honesty8. Responsibility

3. Verifiability …It is made clear what the data and the conclusions are based on, where they were derived from and how they can be verified.

3. Objectivity5. Openness

4. Impartiality …the scientific practitioner heeds no other interest than the scientific interest 4. Impartiality

5. Independence …Insofar as restrictions of academic liberty are inevitable, these are clearly stated.

Faculty policy

1. Survey employees about conceptions and experiences with integrity (violations)

2. Ask department chairs about activities3. Encourage openness of data4. Establish an Ethical Review Board (cf.

Internal Review Board)5. This course (and develop others)6. Encourage debate in research groups7. Appoint two Integrity counselors (VPI)

Ethical Review Board

• When do you need to apply?• How does the procedure work?• Who is on the board?• What if you disagree with an ERB

decision?

Data management and storage

• When do you need to store your data?• What data do you have to store, in

what form, and where?• How should your data be

documented?• How to deal with privacy concerns?• The University Library is developing

facilities for data management

Fostering Integrity

Info

Reflect

Pledge

Practice

Check

Punish

Codes of conduct and Faculty policy

Assignment

Peer review

Assignments 1 + 2

• Formulate a research question that you will answer in your conference paper.

• In the paper, you reflect on a dilemma in current research practice.

• Find two peer reviewers from this group.• Agree upon a deadline.