Half of Dutch scientists admit to questionable practices

National survey reveals scope of rule-bending, with 4 per cent admitting to fraud

Around half of researchers in the Netherlands frequently engage in at least one of 11 questionable research practices, a survey has suggested.

The first results from last year’s National Survey on Research Integrity show that 51 per cent of respondents said they had regularly engaged in at least one of 11 behaviours that were deemed to be bad scientific practice in the past three years. These practices included inadequate note-taking, insufficient admission of study flaws, insufficient mentoring of junior researchers and improper referencing of sources.