New version of Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity

The five main principles in the code of conduct – honesty, scrupulousness, transparency, independence, and responsibility – have remained the same. The new code reduces the number of standards for research integrity from 61 to 41, and focuses more on encouraging integrity in research practices than on telling researchers what not to do. It emphasises the shared responsibility for research integrity and expands the institutions’ duties of care. It also offers a clearer explanation of the complaints procedure for suspected research integrity violations.

A basis for trust

The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity serves as a central point of reference for researchers at research universities, teaching hospitals, universities of applied sciences and other research institutions in the Netherlands. Research integrity ensures that researchers can rely on and build upon each other’s findings, providing the basis for public trust in research and for its impact on society.

The entire spectrum

The code applies to all the various research disciplines, the entire spectrum from fundamental to applied and practice-oriented research, and both publicly and privately funded research. It covers every phase of the research process, from design to execution, reporting, peer review and communication. Researchers are also expected to follow the principles and standards set out in the code for using technologies such as AI.

A healthy research culture

The code explains that research institutions are responsible for fostering a working environment that encourages and safeguards integrity in research practices. They therefore have duties of care to embed research integrity into their organisation and its policies. Board members, directors, principle investigators, and supervisors should actively promote the standards and principles set out in the code, and make research integrity a recurring topic of discussion.

When there are suspicions that research integrity has been violated, these should be carefully investigated through a standard complaints procedure. The code offers guidance on this matter for board members, researchers and other relevant parties, and outlines the measures that may be taken once a research integrity violation has been established.

The organisations behind the code

The code has been adopted by Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), University Medical Centres of the Netherlands (UMCNL), the Dutch Research Council (NWO), the TO2 Federation, the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (VH) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). These organisations tasked a broadly composed committee with revising the code. The committee was chaired by Jeroen de Ridder, professor of philosophy and vice-dean of research at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, VU Amsterdam.