National integrity survey struggles to get responses

Spam filters and lack of cooperation hold back attempt to question all Dutch researchers

The highly anticipated National Survey on Research Integrity 2020 has not yet hit the minimum response rate of just 15 per cent, its organisers have admitted.

The survey, launched on 15 October, is part of a €3.8 million programme to promote research integrity, funded by the medical science funder ZonMw, the NWO research council and their partners. The idea was to ask all 40,000 active researchers at 15 Dutch universities by email about their attitudes towards questionable research practices, peer and publication pressure and other circumstances that might jeopardise scientific integrity.