If the concerns persist, the next step is to decide how to lodge the complaint — either anonymously using telephone hotlines found in many institutes, or in person. The decision can be difficult. Hotline calls may protect the whistleblower, but may not lead to a miscon-duct investigation. “Anonymous reports may not allow the university to gather enough cred-ible information to proceed with an investiga¬tion,” says Jan Allen, associate dean for PhD programmes at Columbia University in New York.