[Research code at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam: useful]

At the Academic Medical Centre (AMC) of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, it was decided to set up a research code committee. The first thing that was done was to define what were considered the most relevant types of scientific misconduct: falsification, plagiarism and invasion of privacy. The committee decided that prevention is better than cure and therefore developed a guideline for desirable behaviour, i.e. how to act scientifically with care and integrity, instead of a guideline on what not to do. The committee also proposed an ombudsman whose services are available to all participants in research in the AMC, and to whom misconduct can be reported. The research code is a loose-leaf system, since new issues will come to the fore and included issues will need to be changed. This committee has created a code that provides a firm basis for scientific integrity within the AMC.