Scientific Integrity

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At the University of Twente, everyone involved in education and research has their own responsibility for upholding the standards of scientific integrity. Each and every member of staff is required to adhere to the guidelines laid down in the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice and the European Code of Conduct for Scientific Integrity. The University of Twente encourages a work environment that promotes and guarantees responsible research practices. To this end, it offers facilities such as integrity education for PhD students, ethical review, and research data management. 

Codes of conduct/downloads

  • Animal testing annual reports

    See the Dutch version of this page for the annual reports and policy document.

Ethical review

The University of Twente has adopted a university-wide research ethics policy. This policy does not cover medical scientific research and laboratory animal research:

Ethical review of research involving human subjects and/or personal data at the University of Twente is considered as common practice and mandatory. For other types of research it is recommended to identify the existence of possible ethical issues related to, for instance the environment, dual-use aspects, low-income countries or artificial intelligence.

Please use the ethical review tool to identify these ethical issues and submit your research for review. Ethical review will not be performed in retrospect; Submit your research before the start of your data collection.

This is the UT tool for identifying possible ethical issues within your research and submitting your research for ethical review in compliance with the university-wide ethics policy. 

Ethical review is conducted and facilitated by four independent domain-specific committees. Within the tool, select the committee of your interest. Students are advised to consult with their supervisor on which domain fits best:

  • Domain-specific committees
    • Computer & Information Sciences (CIS)

      The domain of Computer & Information Sciences (CIS) covers a broad range of research themes such as Human-Computer Interaction and Design, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Human-Robot Interaction, Interactive Devices and Wearables, Signal Processing, Measurement Technology, and Cyber Security.

      Ethical review requests are typically sent to the CIS Ethics Committee when they are part of a project in which new ICT technology is designed or developed. User studies around the design and development of novel ICT technology are part of that, but so are, for example, projects developing novel measurement systems or (data sets for) AI modules.

      The CIS Ethics Committee is facilitated by the EEMCS faculty. For more information on the composition of the committee, related guidelines and procedures as well as useful templates, please visit Ethics Committee | Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) (utwente.nl)

      Contact: EthicsCommittee-CIS@utwente.nl

    • Geo-Information Sciences (GEO)

      Geo-ethics consists of research and reflection on the values that underpin appropriate behavior and practice, wherever human activities interact with the geosphere. It addresses the ethical, social and cultural implications of Earth (Observation) and Geo-Information Sciences education, research and practice, providing a point of intersection for (Geo)spatial sciences, Urban and Rural studies, Sociology,  Economy, and Environmental sciences. It represents an opportunity for geospatial scientists to become more conscious of their social role and responsibilities in conducting their activity, and potential impacts of the findings and outputs of their research on environment and society. Earth (observation) and Geo-Information Sciences covers a broad range of research, like:

      • research that focuses on typical issues such as security and legal order, (geo)health, land rights, water rights, infrastructure provision, and  human rights, natural hazards and disaster management, resource management, among others;
      • research that deals with problems that relate to human life and livelihood as well as the environment;
      • research that pays attention to adverse aspects of applications in geo-information technology and geo-AI by considering the ethical, cultural and economic repercussions that applications may have on society.  

      The GEO Ethics Committee is facilitated by the ITC faculty. For more information on the composition of the committee, related guidelines and procedures as well as useful templates, please visit Ethics Committee | Home ITC

      Contact: EthicsCommittee-GEO@utwente.nl

    • Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS)

      Research in the humanities investigates human culture, focusing on how humans process and document the human experience. The social sciences study the patterns and causes of human behavior, as individuals and as part of groups, communities, cultures and societies.

      The HSS domain covers a broad set of scientific disciplines, like philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, political science and governance, communication and educational sciences or media studies, as well as behaviour-related interventions in health, management, business, industry and organizational studies, and the role and effect on humans of the emerging technology developments & innovations in all these scientific fields. Research practices also differ widely in nature and execution, with methods including, among others, document analysis, participant observation, interviews, surveys, minimal physical interventions and  ethnography.

      The HSS Ethics Committee is facilitated by the BMS faculty. For more information on the composition of the committee, related guidelines and procedures as well as useful templates, please visit Ethics (BMS/domain HSS) | Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences (BMS) (utwente.nl).

      Contact: EthicsCommittee-HSS@utwente.nl

    • Natural Sciences and Engineering Sciences (NES)

      Research within the area of Natural Sciences and Engineering Sciences involves the use of materials and/or devices and may be oriented towards their development, their use as tools to reach another goal, or both.

      Ethical themes within the domain of Natural and Engineering Sciences might be associated with, but are not limited to:

      • the impact of new (disruptive) technology on society (safety, economy, social interaction), e.g. quantum computation, weapons technology, new energy sources;
      • the privacy and safety of human beings (researchers, human subjects, or any others) who are in contact with the used or developed materials/devices, e.g. medical devices, chemicals, human or animal material, including cells, cell lines or genetically modified organisms;
      • protection of the (material or social) environment when developing materials/devices;
      • misuse or ‘dual use’ of materials/devices and results in a way that it could harm individuals, animals, society or the environment, e.g. possible military applications.

      The NES Ethics Committee is facilitated by the faculties of ET and TNW. For more information on the composition of the committee, related guidelines and procedures as well as useful templates, please visit Research support: ET Research support services | Faculty Engineering Techmology (ET) | University of Twente | Service Portal | University of Twente (utwente.nl)

      Contact: EthicsCommittee-NES@utwente.nl

  • University-wide committee (UWEC)

    A university-wide committee, consisting of the chairs and vice-chairs of the domain-specific committees, is responsible for ethical review of complex and/or controversial research proposals related to two or more domains. It also acts as an appeals committee in case of an objection against an issued advice of a domain-specific committee. For more information, please contact the university-wide committee: ethicscommittee@utwente.nl.

Scientific integrity topics

  • CWI (Scientific Integrity Committee) & Confidential advisors

    CWI

    Based on the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, the Executive Board of the University of Twente set up the Scientific Integrity Committee (CWI). A complaint about a (possible) violation of scientific integrity are handled by the CWI. This committee assesses the complaint confidentially in accordance with the UT complaints procedure and advises the Executive Board. The CWI comprised of several employees (1 from EEMCS, 3 from TNW and 1 from BMS) and 2 emeriti from the University of Twente. The chair of the CWI is prof.dr. M.A. (Michiel) Heldeweg LLM. The vice-chair is prof.dr.ir. L. (Leon) Lefferts. 

    Complaints or questions should be addressed to the secretary of the committee, ms J. (Jessica) Greven LLB, email: jessica.greven@utwente.nl.

    AD-HOC COMMITTEE

    Securing a safe environment is an important factor in handling scientific integrity complaints, also according to the CWI. The CWI therefore makes all the effort to act accordingly. Based on the complaint that the secretary receives, an ad-hoc committee is formed. The independence of the members of the ad-hoc committee that handles the complaint is assessed and discussed (if necessary with the executive board) when a complaint is received. This assessment includes the question: ‘can the member (chairperson included) fulfill their role in the committee with sufficient impartiality and independence?’, taking into account the starting point as mentioned in article 5 of the complaints procedure. This includes the chairperson, in which case a vice-chair is appointed. 

    CWI PROCEDURE

    When a complaint is filed, the CWI assesses the admissibility of the complaint. If the complaint is declared admissible, the defendant will be given the opportunity to submit a statement of defence. The CWI assesses the complaint substantively and can hear both parties by means of a hearing. The committee also has the option of appointing experts or calling witnesses. Eventually, the CWI gives an advice to the Executive Board and the Executive Board will make its intended decision. If one of the parties don’t agree with the intended decision, this party can lodge a request within 6 weeks to the LOWI (national body of research integrity) to give advice. The Executive Board’s decision becomes final after 6 weeks, if no request is lodged. If a request is lodged to the LOWI, the Executive Board will make its final decision after the advice of the LOWI. The complaint is published anonymously on the national UNL website ('Universiteiten van Nederland').

    Non-compliance with the standards of research integrity

    The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity provides guidelines for the CWI to assess the non-compliance including the weighting factors to use in this regard. For the qualification of the non-compliance, the Code distinguishes between ‘research misconduct’, ‘questionable research practices’ and ‘minor shortcomings’. In case of non-compliance, the question is whether it is necessary or desirable to impose sanctions or to take other measures. The Executive Board makes this decision.

    CONFIDENTIAL ADVISORS

    For the complainant, the first point of contact is the independent university's confidential adviser for scientific integrity. The available confidential advisers are prof.dr.ir. Olaf Fisscher (o.a.m.fisscher@utwente.nl) and prof.dr. Jan Eijkel (j.c.t.eijkel@utwente.nl) (emeriti). The complainant is advised to speak with one of the confidential advisers before filing a complaint to the committee. Possible violations of scientific integrity as well as any follow-up steps can be discussed with them in all confidence.

    For the accused staff member of the UT who have faced a complaint with regards to their integrity can, if they so desire, be assisted by the independent university's confidential adviser for the defendant, Prof.dr Alfred Stein, who can be reached at: a.stein@utwente.nl. The confidential adviser knows the rules and procedures and can support the defendant. The defendant can share his or her doubts and concerns with this confidential adviser and this confidential advisor can also provide aftercare services.

    Lessons learned

    Most important lessons learned from 2021 and 2022 (more information can be found in the annual reports below) :

    1. All parties involved in a CWI-case will henceforth be informed about the entire composition of the ad-hoc committee that will handle the complaint, with the possibility to express objection to the composition.
    2. To improve anonymity, each complaint received is henceforth discussed by the secretary with the chair anonymously and, as previously, confidentially, in order to assess what the composition of the committee could be and whether the chair of the CWI can be part of it. This assessment is part of the procedure. In addition, a vice-chair is appointed. 
    3. Despite the fact that every potential complainant retains the right to actually launch a complaint according to the complaints procedure, the UT encourages to handle cases in a peer-to-peer setting before a CWI complaint procedure commences.
    4. The CWI procedure is a complaints procedure with a formal administrative decision. This will henceforth be emphasized to parties involved, in which the submitter acts as the 'complainant'.
    5. Despite the formal nature of the complaints process, a personal approach will be pursued.
    6. Aftercare is an important aspect and will be invested in.
    7. The primary goal is ‘to learn lessons' for all involved: a complaint submitted does not necessarily mean a violation, violations occur in different degrees and not every violation justifies imposing sanctions. The UT trusts its employees and their scientifically ethical behaviour. 
    8. Taking into account anonymity as the most important aspect, the CWI and Executive Board strive to be more transparent to the UT-community about lessons learned, for example by including these lessons learned on this website more explicitly.

    Investigated complaintS

    The outcome of the complaint will be published anonymously on the national UNL website ('Universiteiten van Nederland'). If a LOWI advice was given, the LOWI will publish their advice anonymously on the LOWI website. Below, you can find an overview of investigated complaints of research integrity within the UT.

    Annual reports

    The Executive Board takes note of the CWI annual reports and gives attention to the findings mentioned in the reports, together with the CWI and the S&P-department.

  • Scientific independence

    Performing ancillary activities, such as external advising or management work, generally has a positive effect on the connections that a scientist makes with society. This type of activities therefore perfectly fits with the entrepreneurial attitude that the University of Twente wants to encourage amongst her academic staff. In order to make clear agreements about this and guarantee the scientific integrity, the UT follows the sectoral scheme covering ancillary activities. These regulations apply to all Dutch universities.

  • Research data management

    Research data management is crucial to warrant the quality, reliability, reproducibility, and verification of scientific research. It supports the (re)use of data and its accessibility for third parties. Careful data management warrants compliance with requirements by funders imposed on researchers. The research data policy at the UT formulates general guidelines regarding data management and the responsibilities of researchers and institutes.

    For day-to-day support regarding data management such as data management protocols and data storage, researchers can turn to the Service Portal page Research support

  • Integrity and education

    Scientific integrity is an integral part of the educational curricula at the University of Twente. At bachelor, master and post-graduate level students are educated in good academic practice. Students' attention is drawn towards undesirable practices such as plagiarism and fraud. The student charter contains explicit rules and regulations regarding plagiarism and fraud. At the Twente Graduate School dedicated courses are offered on scientific integrity and PhD students are educated in the professional standards of academic practices as applied in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries.

  • Integrity regulations & advisors

    CODES OF CONDUCT UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE

    The University of Twente has a number of codes of conduct related to integrity. In addition to the UT code of ethics, there exists a code regarding ICT and internet use, and a code regarding (sexual) harassment, intimidation agression, violence and discrimination.

    REGULATIONS UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE

    In addition to the codes of conduct several regulations exist to stimulate and warrant good behaviour. The UT has a general complaints procedure, dedicated regulations regarding intellectual property rights, and a reporting of irregularities scheme (whistleblower procedure).

    CONFIDENTIAL ADVISORS

    The Executive Board has appointed four members of staff to act in the capacity of confidential advisor. These four employees perform their duties as confidential advisor in addition to their regular job. The confidential advisor advises and supports individual staff members who are confronted with unacceptable behaviour like intimidation, (sexual) harassment, aggression, violence, discrimination, bullying or stalking. UT staff can also approach the confidential advisor in case of a workplace conflict related to or arising from unacceptable behaviour. PhD candidates, too, may call on the confidential advisor. Bachelor's and master's students may not, however. These students can approach any of the student counsellors should they be confronted with unacceptable behaviour.

  • Research compliance regulations

    Good research practices imply that researchers take into account relevant ethical norms and standards, as well as observing statutory regulations. In the case of research a broad set of regulations apply. The table below offers an overview of regulations. The overview is not comprehensive, additional rules and regulations on national, supranational or local levels may apply.

    Regulations

    UT contact

    Animal by-products (dierlijke bijproducten)

    Besluit en regeling dierlijke bijproducten. Implementation of regulation (EU) No 142/2011 and regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption. ().  

    HR - Biological Safety Officer


    Besluit Voorschrift Informatiebeveiliging Rijksdienst Bijzondere Informatie 2013 (VIRBI 2013)


    Dutch Opium legislation (Opiumwetbesluit)

    TechMed – support staff

    Embryos Act (Embryowet) 


    Environmental Management Act (Wet milieubeheer)


    Foetal Tissue Act (Wet foetaal weefsel)  


    General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 

    Data protection officers

    Genetically Modified Organisms Decree (Besluit genetisch gemodificeerde organismen) and Genetically Modified Organisms Regulations

    HR - Biological Safety Officer


    Higher Education and Research Act (WHW)

    UT general affairs

    International, European and national legislation regarding intellectual property, including:

    a. Copyright Act (Auteurswet)  
    b. Patents Act 1995 (Rijksoctrooiwet 1995)  
    c. Neighbouring Rights Act (Wet op de naburige rechten)  
    d. Seeds and Plant Materials Act 2005 (Zaaizaad- en plantgoedwet 2005) 

    Novel-T/General Affairs – legal advisors


    Kennisregeling Noord Korea, Sanctieregeling Iran  


    Legislation and regulations related to public and state security and state secrets, including:

    a. General Security Requirements for Ministry of Defence Assignments (ABDO 2017) (Algemene beveiligingseisen voor defensieopdrachten 2017)   
    b. Civil Service Information Security (Classified Information) Decree 2013 (Besluit Voorschrift Informatiebeveiliging Rijksdienst Bijzondere Informatie 2013)
    c. Judicial Data and Criminal Records Act (Wet justitiële en strafvorderlijke gegevens)
    d. Police Data Act (Wet politiegegevens) 
    e. Intelligence and Security Services Act 2017 (Wet op de Inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten 2017)
    f. Security Screening Act (Wet veiligheidsonderzoeken)


    Medical Research involving Human Subjects Act (Wet medisch wetenschappelijk onderzoek met mensen) 

    TechMed – support staff


    Medical Devices Act (Wet op de medische hulpmiddelen)

    TechMed – support staff

    Medical Treatment Contracts Act (Wet op de geneeskundige behandelingsovereenkomst)


    Nagoya Protocol- regulation on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. 

    Wet implementatie Nagoya protocol (elaboration of EU regulation 511/2014) 

    TechMed – support staff


    HR – Biological Safety Officer


    Population Screening Act (Wet op het bevolkingsonderzoek)


    Public Records Act (Archiefwet)

    LISA - Archive

    Radiation Protection Decree (Kernenergiewet, Besluit stralingsbescherming)  

    HR – Coordinating radiation expert

    Regulations and the classification of dual use research:

    1.https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/exportcontrole-strategische-goederen/beleid-controle-strategische-goederen-en-diensten (Dutch government);
    2.https://ec.europa.eu/trade/import-and-export-rules/export-from-eu/dual-use-controls/ (EU)
    3.https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2016/august/tradoc_154880.pdf; (EU)

    Novel-T/General Affairs – legal advisors


    Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)-drones (Besluit op afstand bestuurbare luchtvaartuigen, EU policy in progress))

    a.     Operator certificate (ROC)
    b.     Use of mini-drones (Beleidsregel verlenen van ontheffingen voor micro- en minidrones) 

    Use of drones weighing no more than 4 kg is not applicable at this moment (ROC-license and regime)

    HR - Health and Safety Officer


    Research Databases Act (Onderzoeksgegevensbankenwet)


    Standard for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes  

    Experiments on Animals Act (Wet op de dierproeven) 

    TechMed – support staff


Toolboxes

  • Dialogues about scientific integrity

    Watch the dialogues about scientific integrity dilemma's through our YouTube playlist Building a House of Integrity.    

  • The Dilemma game: Professionalism and Integrity in Research
    The Dilemma Game available in an app
    More information and download
    The Dilemma Game confronts researchers with difficult dilemmas in the context of a critical dialogue, supporting them in further developing their own 'moral compass'. For years, the Dilemma Game was played as a card game, but in 2020 the game has been digitalized. The Dilemma Game app now allows researchers to use the game anytime, anywhere, on their own, or together with peers and colleagues. 

    TRY OUT THE DILLEMA GAME APP

    Watch how our University of Twente colleagues Jeroen Rouwkema and Frances Wijnen use the dilemma game app.

    This dilemma game was developed as one of the initiatives of the Erasmus University Rotterdam Taskforce Scientific Integrity (chaired by prof.dr. Finn Wynstra). The objective of the taskforce has been to raise awareness for and to develop proposals to help maintain scientific professionalism and integrity. The HR department has two hardcopy games avalaible. Please contact the HR secretariat (secretariaat-hr@utwente.nl /tel: 8012) if you would like to use them.

  • Film 'On Being a Scientist'

    This 56-minute film On Being a Scientist was produced for educational purposes by Leiden University. It aims to raise students’ awareness of scientific integrity and to prepare them for the problems and dilemmas they could encounter as scientists.

    Source and Intellectual property: Leiden University

  • Research seminar on Integrity 4 March 2020

    Faculty ITC brought this topic of academic integrity to the attention of all staff and students through a seminar: “If Academic Integrity of the solution, what is the problem?" on 4 March 2020. Please find the presentations that have been given below.

    More information on this seminar and other ethics workshops can be found on the ITC Ethics committee website.

  • Presentation Ethics of Science and Technology

    Watch the online presentation of Peter-Paul Verbeek for the University Wide Ethics Committee about the ethical work he is engaged in within our University.

General Contacts

You manager is your first point of contact for integrity related questions. If that does not work for you, please contact the HR managers(s) responsible for your faculty/service department.

For ideas, comments or changes to this page, please email webteam-hr@utwente.nl

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