Below you can find the academic integrity guidelines and contact information for confidential advisors from the different universities associated with EPS.

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres (NFU), Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Associated Applied Research Institutes (TO2), Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (VH), and the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) have worked together intensively to thoroughly amend and expand the Code of Conduct that has been in use since 2004. The new Code of Conduct has entered into force on 1 October 2018.

Committee chair Prof. Keimpe Algra says, “Research integrity is essential if research is to be conducted properly. This new Code of Conduct ensures that the Netherlands keeps up with international developments regarding research integrity.” Committee member Prof. Lex Bouter says, “This Code of Conduct is a way for participating organizations to demonstrate that integrity is an essential part of their research practice. We want researchers to be able to work in an open environment in which they feel responsible and accountable. Science can only develop further if people can share concerns about dilemmas and discuss errors made. This Code of Conduct is our contribution to that thought.”

Guidelines on the FAIR principles to improve the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse of digital datasets can be found on the GO FAIR website.

Guidelines on correct handling of image data can be found in the joint editorial from The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology by Martin & Blatt (2013).

How to deal with (co-)authorship and author ranking in the publication process?
The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity describes the guidelines for authorship, reporting results and properly acknowledging contributions from the persons involved in the research. All Dutch universities and research institutes should adhere to these guidelines, however, each university might have additional regulations on top of the standard guidelines to describe how to deal with authorship and affiliations at that particular university. Below you can find additional guidelines per university, if present.

Open Science

Reliable science is not the sole work of superhuman geniuses, but a collaborative process. Researchers rely and build upon each other’s work. Together, we build theories, collect evidence and assess the research of colleagues. However, we can only build upon others’ work if we know exactly what our predecessors have done: What were their methods, relevant materials, data and outputs? Therefore, sound science ideally equals Open Science, in which all phases of the research cycle are as transparent and accessible as possible.

About this guide

Beginning researchers are an important link in the transition to Open Science, so this guide is aimed at PhD candidates, Research Master Students, and early-career researchers from all disciplines at Dutch universities and research institutes. It is designed to accompany researchers in every step of their research, from the phase of preparing your research project and discovering relevant resources (chapter 2) to the phase of data collection and analysis (chapter 3), writing and publishing articles, data, and other research output (chapter 4), and outreach and assessment (chapter 5). Every chapter provides you with the best tools and practices to implement immediately.

Preprints

Preprints are [academic] manuscripts that have not been peer-reviewed or published in a traditional publishing venue. In Open Science and academic publishing, the preprint increasingly appears on the radar as an important element in academic communication. By posting preprints, academics can rapidly share their findings and build upon each other’s work.
But, to what extent do they differ from articles published in an academic journal? How to post a preprint yourself and by, which preprint archive? How to interpret the research results published through preprints?

About the guide

The guide aims to support both researchers and members of the general public (journalists, patients, healthcare workers, etc.) from, but not limited to, the Netherlands answering these and other questions through sharply defined chapters and frequently asked questions.

Predatory publishers

Predatory publishers can harm scholars and their institutions financially and reputationally by charging a fee for no peer review or publishing service at all. Predatory publishers and questionable publishing practices have a negative effect on the credibility of the published scholarly record and the scholarly community as a whole.
How can you recognise and avoid these practices and publishers? What if you have submitted an article to, or are in a publishing process with, a publisher and something goes wrong or seems inaccurate?

About this guide

This guide, written by open access specialists at universities across the Netherlands, provides insight and practical advice for authors on how to avoid questionable and predatory journals.

About this guide

This guide wants to inform researchers about the Creative Commons (CC) licence system. What licence to choose when publishing a paper or book or sharing an article through a repository? And what licence to apply when sharing your teaching materials? The guide wants to help choose the right licence by addressing several frequently asked questions and common concerns expressed by researchers about the use of CC licences.