Responsible Research
The principles of truth and honesty are considered as fundamental to scientists. Research integrity principles such as responsible publishing, proper data management, correct citing of peers, use of appropriate study designs and analysis methods and adhering to transparancy and open science principles are fundamental to ensuring research integrity and quality. These build trust in the academic institute.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Maurice Zeegers
Current projects
BMJ – Responsible Publishing of Scientific Results
We are partnering with the BMJ to offer a 4-year PhD program in the responsible conduct of publishing scientific research. The BMJ has been at the forefront of innovative thinking and practice in healthcare and is the fourth most highly cited general medical journal in the world. This PhD opportunity is for a self-funded or scholarship-based program with distance-learning. PhD candidates will be supervised by a team of research integrity researchers and BMJ staff on selected topics. Students will also have free access to selected courses. There will be no University tuition fee.
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SPIROS 2024 - Responsible Reporting
SPIROS 2024 - Responsible Reporting (Standardized Protocol Items Recommendations for Observational Studies) is a guideline for the minimum content of an observational study protocol. We have defined the scope of the recommendations to cover three main observational study designs: cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies.
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Strengthening Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Clinical Trials in East and Sub-Saharan Africa (SERCEA) Project
A pioneering initiative aimed at reinforcing ethical considerations and responsible conduct in research including clinical trial research across East and Sub-Saharan Africa. With the rapid expansion of (clinical) research in the region, our mission is to ensure that these studies are conducted to the highest research quality standards through the transfer and building of expertise in research ethics, integrity and open science in the sub-Saharan region.
More info | News
Example publications
- Identification of retracted publications and completeness of retraction notices in public health
- Systematic review search strategies are poorly reported and not reproducible: a cross-sectional metaresearch study
- The relationship between methodological quality and the use of retracted publications in evidence syntheses
- Citation bias: questionable research practice or scientific misconduct?
- Citation bias and other determinants of citation in biomedical research: findings from six citation networks
- Improving peer review of systematic reviews by involving librarians and information specialists: protocol for a randomized controlled trial
- Standardized Protocol Items Recommendations for Observational Studies (SPIROS) for Observational Study Protocol Reporting Guidelines: Protocol for a Delphi Study
- The relationship between methodological quality and the use of retracted publications in evidence syntheses
Current PhD Projects
- Standardized Protocol Items Recommendations for Observational Studies (Raman Mahajan)
- Improving the reproducibility and reporting quality of search strategies in biomedical systematic reviews (Melissa Rethlefsen)
- How to implement machine learning in diagnostic test accuracy systematic reviews for data mining and meta-analysis (Davide Petri)
- The Representation, Identification and Continued Impact of Retracted Publications in Biomedical Literature (Caitlin Bakker)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted peer review: acceptability, feasibility and validity (Lama Bou-Karroum)