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Scientific Integrity Scientific Integrity SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY The Rules of Academic Research by Kees Schuyt Translated by Kristen Gehrman LEIDEN UNIVERSITY PRESS Translation: Kristen Gehrman Cover design: Geert de Koning Lay-out: Friedemann bvba ISBN 978 90 8728 230 1 e-ISBN 978 94 0060 218 2 (PDF) e-ISBN 978 94 0060 219 9 (ePUB) nur 737, 738 © Kees Schuyt / Leiden University Press, 2019 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/. This book is distributed in North America by the University of Chicago Press www.press.uchicago.edu. Table of contents Foreword 7 Introduction 9 Chapter 1 Scientific integrity: an exploration of an elusive concept 13 1.1 Discredited by fraud 13 1.2 Integrity as a standard linked to one’s position 15 1.3 Integrity as a standard for one’s own behavior 18 1.4 Scientific values and the basic standards of integrity 21 1.5 Scientific integrity in practice: an initial exploration 25 Chapter 2 The codification of behavioral standards for scientific research 31 2.1 Muddying the waters of science: the Stapel affair 31 2.2 Some examples of fraud 32 2.3 Four conceptual distinctions 35 2.4 The emergence of norms in scientific practice 36 2.5 A case study: the codification of norms in the Netherlands 41 2.6 The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice of 2004/2012/2014 45 2.7 The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity of 2018 49 Chapter 3 Scientific fraud: lessons from history 57 3.1 A new phenomenon? 57 3.2 What phenomenon? A more precise definition of scientific fraud 59 3.3 A frequent phenomenon? 62 3.4 Do performance pressure and dishonesty go hand in hand? 63 3.5 Commissioned research: under pressure to adjust? 69 3.6 Towards an explanation of scientific fraud? 72 Chapter 4 Addressing scientific integrity complaints 79 4.1 The establishment of committees for scientific integrity 79 4.2 The complaint procedure in the Netherlands: the legal framework 80 4.3 The current complaint procedure 83 4.4 Principles of fair trial in addressing fraud complaints 84 4.5 Setting the boundaries: practical problems and examples 88 Chapter 5 Plagiarism and self-plagiarism 97 5.1 Violation of the basic rules of science 97 5.2 Taking credit for other people’s work 100 5.3 Scope and frequency of plagiarism 106 5.4 Self-plagiarism 109 5.5 Plagiarism complaints: power relations and reporting 117 Chapter 6 Frequently asked questions about scientific integrity 121 6.1 Who can complain about whom? To which authority? 121 6.2 Matters worthy of complaint (I): fabrication and falsification 125 6.3 Matters worthy of complaint (II): co-authorship 130 6.4 Is there a statute of limitations for scientific misconduct? 136 6.5 Minor errors, major negligence and questionable research practices 138 Chapter 7 Integrity: regulation, prevention, instruction 147 7.1 Trust in science: self-correction and self-regulation 147 7.2 A closer look at the system of self-regulation 152 7.3 Three conditions for self-regulation 156 7.4 Prevention of fraud and misconduct: integrity policy 159 7.5 Can integrity be learned? Education in science ethics and other skills 162 7.6 Ten rules of scientific integrity 164 7.7 What can we learn from integrity? 167 Works cited 169 Index 181 Foreword In 2006, I was asked by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences president at the time, Frits van Oostrom, to serve as chairman of the Nether- lands Board on Research Integrity (LOWI). Out of a desire to contribute to the general cause, I accepted. At first, the job wasn’t so demanding, but after a few high-profile cases of scientific fraud came to light, the workload became significantly heavier. My term ended on January 1, 2015, but the subject of “scientific integrity” has continued to fascinate me, and I’ve been exploring it in various ways ever since. I guess you can say I have been studying scientific integrity for a long time. I have read a great deal of scientific literature on the topic, and over the years, I’ve collected countless articles from newspapers and magazines about fraud cases all over the world. This study is a report of my findings. This book has become an analysis of the norms and values behind integrity and honesty in science and of their development since the mid-1980s. Around 1985, there was a shift in both the views on and the structure of scientific re- search. In the Netherlands, this shift coincided with the introduction of the system of conditional funding for scientific research (between 1981 and 1985), the institutionalization of PhD research, and the establishment of a system for research institutes (from 1986). This study details the development of the new rules established in various co- des of conduct for scientific practice and the way in which suspected violations are evaluated and addressed. From 2006 to 2015, I participated in the evaluation of a large number of suspected violations of scientific integrity submitted to the LOWI. Thus, I myself have contributed to the interpretation of the rules and codes of conduct. However, this study is a reflection of my own personal views and appraisals. In no way does it represent the official position of the LOWI or any other body. That said, I do regularly refer to the LOWI’s opinions, which are published in anonymized form on its website ( https://www.lowi.nl/en/ Opinions?set_language=en). The first reason for releasing a revised version of this study was the publi- cation of a new Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity in 2018, which is discussed in Chapter 2. With this update, this study can offer a contribution 7 Scientific Integrity to future discussions on scientific integrity that may arise as a result of the 2018 Code. A second reason was the need for an English edition. There is a strong desire at Dutch universities to communicate the standards of scientific ethics and integrity to students at all levels, from Bachelor to PhD, and English is the international language of science. It was Maghiel van Crevel, professor of Chinese language and literature at Leiden University, who submitted an urgent request to publish the new version in English. I am therefore very grateful to Maghiel for insisting on this translation and spontaneously supporting it. He has done me a great service with his many comments to improve and clarify the text, for which this acknowledgment is simply not enough. I am grateful to Leiden University, in particular to the Graduate School of the Faculty of Huma- nities, for their financial support for this publication. And I would particularly like to thank Anniek Meinders of Leiden University Press for her unfailing belief in and support for this publication in its original and revised form, in Dutch and in English. I would also like to recognize the many people who, directly or indirectly, have helped me to form my opinions and standpoints on the sensitive subject of scientific integrity. First of all, my thanks and gratitude go to the LOWI mem- bers, former members and staff, with whom I have had extremely interesting discussions about many aspects related to scientific integrity and the many ways in which it has been violated. Finally, I would like to recognize a number of people who have helped me write this study and its latest revision. First of all, I would like to thank the translator Kristen Gehrman for her excellent work and the very pleasant way in which we have untangled the many translation knots. I am also very grateful to Adriënne Baars-Schuyt, who provided professional and meticulous comments on my manuscripts, as she did for the first and second edition. Given the specific subjects addressed in this book, one of which was proper source-referencing, this was a crucial task. Finally, I’d like to thank my wife, Trees Schuyt-van Etten. In my first book, published in 1971, I thanked her for the “piano of her soul”. Now, after all of these years, I’d like to thank her for the time she has given me and for allowing me to devote so much of my time to the subject of scientific integrity. Kees Schuyt Voorburg, June 2, 2019 8 Introduction The subject of scientific integrity has generated a lot of attention in recent decades, both in the media—which is all too happy to report on the latest fraud or plagiarism scandal—and in the boardrooms of the scientific insti - tutions that have to respond to it. In the meantime, scientific research has continued, but researchers have become more attuned to the fact that scien- tific integrity is something they need to pay attention to in their laboratories and research institutes. Then came the question as to whether we should add courses in scientific ethics and integrity to university curricula, which are already full as it is. New courses for students and novice researchers have been established in recent years, creating a demand for teaching material on scientific integrity. But can integrity be learned? Or is it more a matter of gaining experience, following good examples and having outstanding scientific researchers as role models? This is one of the questions that will be addressed in this study. This book is not designed to serve as a curriculum for prospective stu - dents or novice researchers. Although I know there is a need for this, I do not feel called to address all the possible ethical cases, dilemmas and temp- tations inherent to scientific research and explain how young researchers should respond to each one.
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