UvA implements measures as result of final report on Stapel affair
‘No more working in isolation’
‘An important report. We will take the recommendations to heart. We have already implemented many of the proposed measures or they will soon be introduced,’ said Rector Magnificus Dymph van den Boom of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The final report of the Levelt, Drenth and Noort committees was published on 28 November. They investigated the fraudulent practices of social psychologist Diederik Stapel.
According to the committees, ‘academic failings’ were clearly evident and there was a research culture that facilitated fraud. No fraud has been uncovered from the period that Stapel was working at the UvA. ‘Nevertheless we are taking the report very seriously,’ said Van den Boom. In recent years, the University of Amsterdam has announced various measures to prevent and detect fraud.
By way of example, every research project at the Department of Psychology as of 1 March 2013:
- has to be reported to an ethics committee;
- needs to establish the hypothesis and research methods in advance;
- is required to document all its data in detail;
- will have its data stored centrally.
In this way, it is no longer possible for data to be massaged or manipulated, as described in the committees’ reports. ‘We are taking the lead and are already very far in drawing up strict rules to prevent and detect fraud,’ said Edward de Haan, dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.
The committees noted that the discussion surrounding the Stapel affair has worked as a catalyst for improvement. They also conclude that the debate surrounding the Stapel affair in the Netherlands and abroad has led to a broad discussion on academic integrity.
The fact that the UvA has recently adopted completely revamped Klachtenregeling Wetenschappelijke Integriteit (Academic Integrity Complaints Regulations) is partly as a consequence of the Stapel affair . These Regulations make it possible for anyone to report complaints about alleged violations to a counsel, who will subsequently appoint a committee to conduct an investigation.
‘That is important for detection, but the focus should, of course, be on the prevention of fraud. This already starts in teaching through awareness. You then have to safeguard it in research. We will ensure that people are no longer able to work in isolation. Research is conducted in mixed groups, information is shared and social control is essential. And all the research must, of course, be checkable’, said Van den Boom. The UvA will implement a Research Code in the future.