Diederik Stapel Report

Rector Magnificus Prof. Elmer Sterken of the University of Groningen says of the academic fraud committed by Diederik Stapel that ‘it is incredible that Stapel deliberately betrayed the trust placed in him by colleagues and PhD students’. Enquiry committees from the Universities of Tilburg, Groningen and Amsterdam announced today that the fraud committed by Diederik Stapel is ‘significant and staggering’. At least thirty articles in journals in the field of social psychology contain fictitious research data.

The interim report presented in Tilburg was compiled from the partial reports of the three universities where Stapel has worked. The Groningen report, written by a committee headed by Prof. Ed Noort, was presented to the Board of the University today.

One important finding is that the fraud was completely and utterly the work of Stapel alone. PhD students were not aware of it and were not involved in it. This means that no degrees will have to revoked. The committee thinks that the reason the fraud was not discovered earlier is due to Stapel’s calculating and manipulative style, as well as his abuse of his position.

More information (in Dutch): University of Tilburg press release or the PDF of the complete report

Note for the press: The mentioned dr. J.F. Jolij is not dr.J(acob) Jolij, who is currently working at the Psychology Department.