Bouter Lex M, Hendrix Sven
a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics , VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
b Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities , Vrije Universiteit , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
Account Res. 2017;24(6):359-366. doi: 10.1080/08989621.2017.1327814. Epub 2017 May 8.
Whistleblowers play an important role diagnosing research misconduct, but often experience severe negative consequences. That is also true for incorrectly accused scientists. Both categories are vulnerable and deserve protection. Whistleblowers must proceed carefully and cautiously. Anonymous whistleblowing should be discouraged but cannot be ignored when the allegations are specific, serious, and plausible. When accused of a breach of research integrity it is important to be as transparent as possible. Sometimes accusations are false in the sense that the accuser knows or should know that the allegations are untrue. A mala fide whistleblower typically does not act carefully and we postulate a typology that may help in detecting them. Striking the right balance between whistleblower protection and timely unmasking false and identifying incorrect accusations is a tough dilemma leaders of research institutions have to face.
举报人在诊断研究不当行为方面发挥着重要作用，但往往会遭受严重的负面后果。被错误指控的科学家也是如此。这两类人都很脆弱，都应受到保护。举报人必须谨慎行事。应不鼓励匿名举报，但当指控具体、严重且看似合理时则不能忽视。当被指控违反研究诚信时，尽可能保持透明很重要。有时，从指控者知道或应该知道指控不属实的意义上来说，指控是虚假的。恶意举报人通常行事并不谨慎，我们提出一种类型学，可能有助于发现他们。在举报人保护与及时揭露虚假指控和识别错误指控之间找到正确平衡，是研究机构领导人必须面对的艰难困境。
