Research misbehaviours

Research misbehaviours encompass serious misconduct, such as fabrication and falsification of results, as well as other questionable research practices, such as p-hacking, salami slicing publications and poor data management. Research misbehaviours are not always intentional, they also include ‘sloppy’ research.

In order to consistently promote, facilitate and ensure the conduct of scientific research according to the principles of conduct for research integrity in and across the University Medical Centers in Amsterdam, a joint Research Code was established on behalf of the Executive Boards of the Academic Medical Center (AMC) and VU University medical center (VUmc). Click here for the full text of the Amsterdam UMC Research Code. This document describes best practices, but also outlines what to do when things go wrong. Amsterdam UMC is also guided by The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. 

If you would like to talk to someone outside of your research team regarding questionable research practices or research misbehaviors, confidential counsellors are available. A short video about the role of the confidential counsellor can be viewed  here.

If you suspect someone of research misconduct, it is important to report it. Sometimes it can be difficult to know whether a misbehaviour is serious enough to report or whether it can be addressed through other means. In case of doubts, the confidential counselor can be contacted. Processes and procedures related to research misconduct and misbehaviours are also outlined in the following documents:

In case of a potential leak of research data, immediately contact your supervisor and immediately call the data protection officer of your organization:

Action is needed to determine if the breach must be notified to the data protection authority