Strengthening research integrity in the arts and humanities
Strengthening research integrity in the arts and humanities
Thursday 24 April 2025 10-11AM BST
In this webinar, speakers explored research integrity issues and opportunities in the arts and humanities, including the needs of its researchers and how organisations can foster best practice and provide practical support.
Replication in the humanities: Reflections on a Rembrandt attribution case study
In this presentation, Dr Rik Peels and Charlotte Wilkens explored the possibilities, challenges, and value of replication in the humanities – a concept often seen as limited to the sciences. Dr Peels provided a theoretical foundation, outlining objections commonly raised against replication in fields like history, art, and philosophy, and offered arguments for why replication is both possible and beneficial. Ms Wilkens then presented a case study involving the reattribution of two portraits formerly attributed to Rembrandt, illustrating how a conceptual and reproduction-based replication can enhance methodological rigour, transparency, and the reliability of expert-driven research in art history.
Attendees learned about:
- The definition and relevance of replication and replicability in humanities disciplines.
- Common objections to replication in the humanities and how they can be addressed.
- Different types of replication (reproduction, direct, and conceptual) and their application in practice.
- A detailed case study of a replication project in art history that involved reanalysing data and redesigning expert attribution methods.
- How replication in the humanities can contribute to research integrity, transparency, and methodological innovation – especially through interdisciplinary collaboration and pre-registration.
About the speakers
Prof Dr Rik Peels is a A University Research Chair at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam specialising in the ethics and epistemology of belief, and the author of Ignorance (OUP, 2023) and Monotheism and Fundamentalism (CUP, 2024).
Charlotte C.S Rulkens is an art historian and PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam specialising in Dutch 17th-century painting, and a member of the supervisory board of Museum Rembrandthuis.
📄You can access a PDF version of this presentation here.
Mess and proximity: Reflections on research when researching work we love
In this presentation, Dr Joe Parslow reflected on research integrity in the context of arts and humanities practice, focusing on the emotional, personal, and relational dimensions of researching queer nightlife and drag performance. Drawing from their own creative writing, scholarship, and collaborative research, Dr Parslow explored how care, proximity, love, and hope shape ethical practice and knowledge production. They discussed the value of feminist and queer methodologies, the role of personal investment in research, and how concepts like “leaky evidence” and “reparative reading” challenge dominant norms of academic rigour. Emphasising the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, they framed integrity as a deeply relational and community-rooted commitment, particularly meaningful for those working from marginalised positions within the academy.
Attendees learned about:
- How personal experience, emotion, and proximity can inform rigorous and ethical research in the arts and humanities.
- The concept of “leaky evidence” and its value in queer and feminist research methodologies.
- The difference between paranoid and reparative readings, and how both inform research practices grounded in love and care.
- The relevance of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity in both formal research and creative practice settings.
- How research integrity can be reframed as a practice of community care, transparency, and accountability – especially for queer, trans, and marginalised researchers.
About the speaker:
Dr Joe Parslow is the Head of Research and Postgraduate Provision at Rose Bruford College, as well as a researcher of queer performance and communities, and the author of Their Majesties: Drag Performance and Queer Communities in London (Routledge, 2024).
📄You can access a PDF version of this presentation here.
About UKRIO Expert webinars:
UKRIO hosts multiple free, public webinars throughout the year where experts explore emerging challenges in research integrity and share practical advice. These events are great opportunities for researchers, students, administrators, and other research stakeholders to stay informed on developing topics in research integrity and learn new skills to improve their work.