Scientific Integrity
As a Master's student, you enter the world of scientific research, which comes with its own code of conduct based on principles of proper scientific behaviour. You are supposed to follow scientific integrity guidelines throughout your study period. The research project and writing assignment guides contain a chapter with more information on scientific integrity. Furthermore, during the introduction week for first-year Master's students' Introducing Life Sciences', one day will be dedicated to scientific integrity.
Rules and regulations on scientific integrity
Utrecht University takes fraud and plagiarism very seriously. It will not be tolerated if you fake responses from questionnaires or research data or include data or sections of text from others in a writing assignment without quoting the source. All essays, reports and theses will be scanned for plagiarism. Those (co-) committing fraud or plagiarism will be punished by the sanctions described in the Education- and Examination Regulations, varying from invalidation of a paper and a record in OSIRIS to permanent termination of registration to the programme. Also, no Cum laude classification can be obtained.
Principles of scientific integrity
In general, researchers, research institutes and universities commit themselves to observe and to promote the principles of scientific integrity as described in ‘The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity’. Since 1 October 2018, The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity 2018, has entered into force. Both Codes set out the principles that should be observed by each individual concerned, which are the following basic norms: honesty, reliability, objectivity, impartiality and independence, as well as open communication, duty of care, fairness and responsibility for future science generations.
Top 3 scientific misconduct
- Fabrication, making up results and recording or reporting them.
- Falsification, manipulating research processes or changing or omitting data.
- Plagiarism is appropriating another person's ideas, research results or words without giving appropriate credit.
More information on Scientific Integrity can be found in the guides for research project and writing assignment.