Jan van Ruitenbeek

Confidential counsellor for academic integrity/Science

“Academic integrity is crucial for the scientific world to work successfully. You are always welcome to discuss issues, even if you are in doubt about whether your problem is important enough.”

Academic integrity is essential for the world of academia to function properly. When the principles of academic integrity are violated, then not only the quality but also the reliability of academia is jeopardised. That can lead to direct harm, for instance to patients or the research environment, and it can damage public trust in academia and the trust between academics themselves.

Violations of academic integrity

Since 1 October 2018, Dutch universities have been required to comply with the Dutch Code of Conduct on Academic Integrity. All academic staff must follow this code of conduct. Academic integrity is violated when the code of conduct is broken, for instance through:

• Falsification and deliberately misleading interpretation of research results,
• Deliberately misleading use of (statistical) methods,
• Plagiarism of publications,
• Omitting or failing to recognise co-authors, or the unjustifiable addition of someone as (co-)author,
• Not amending errors following justified criticism, and covering up colleagues’ misconduct.

More information

You can find more about what a confidential advisor does and does not do, confidentiality and options for appeal and objection on the page Confidential Counsellors.