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Professional Ethics-Responsible Conduct Of Research Training: Making Sense Of Complex Problems, Michael D. Mumford, Shane Connelly, Ryan P. Brown, Lynn D. Devenport, Stephen T. Murphy, Alison L. Antes

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

General Course Abstract

This two-day seminar format course exposes students to the complexities involved in real-world ethical decision-making. It provides students with strategies, or tools, for understanding and thinking through ethical problems to arrive at a decision. Students practice working with these strategies by applying them to realistic, complex cases.

Day 1 Abstract

During the first day of the course, guidelines and principles for ethical research practices are discussed. It is emphasized that students must apply guidelines in a context to arrive at a decision, and the course provides guidance on this decision-making process. Next, students learn about the personal …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Conflict Of Interest, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This faculty adviser in this role-play has a major conflict of interest, which puts the student in an awkward situation. If the conflict oversight committee hasn’t contacted the student already (an unfortunately common situation), they should have. In an ideal situation, every student affected by a potential conflict of interest should have some written guidance about what to expect and how to get advice if concerns arise.

One useful step is to find out if there are any written policies or guidelines about what students can expect in situations like this: for example, is there a meeting annually or every …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Whistleblowing Data Management, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This role-play involves data mismanagement in a research lab. The graduate students suspects that the post-doc fabricated experimental results, which is a form of research misconduct. The realization or suspicion that someone has engaged in research misconduct is one of the most difficult situations researchers face. However, someone who has witnessed misconduct has an obligation to act and report this behavior. Reporting the misconduct, which also known as whistle-blowing, should be done in a cautious and responsible way. Ideally, whistle-blowers should never be afraid to come forward with questions of misconduct, as they should be supported by their institutions and …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Hazardous Substances, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This role-play focuses on the dilemmas in balancing regulatory requirements, personal relationships and a natural reluctance to “cause trouble.” These dilemmas arise in many settings, and can be particularly acute in laboratories that handle hazardous substances because of the serious safety implications of violations. In addition, violations can carry fines and penalties for laboratories and universities where they occur. The worries of the graduate student in the role-play about potential laboratory shut-downs and corresponding research delays are all too real. Specifics of regulations vary according to the materials being handled. The underlying principles regarding human and environmental safety stay the …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Human Subjects, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This role-play addresses issues involved with human subject research and working with an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

The Belmont Report (1979) identifies three basic ethical principles that underlie all human subject research. These principles are Respect for persons, Beneficence, and Justice. Respect for persons requires us to treat individuals as autonomous human beings and not to use people as a means to an end. We must allow people to choose for themselves and provide extra protection to those with limited ability to choose, such as children. Rules derived from the principle of respect for persons include the requirements to obtain …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Peer Review, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This scenario is based on “What is Responsible Peer Review?” http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/rcr/rcr_authorship/case/index.html#2, which is based on the “Confidentiality vs. Mentor Responsibilities: A Conflict of Obligations” scenario, http://onlineethics.org/reseth/appe/vol3/conflictobligations.html, which is based on a real incident.

This scenario highlights several issues in the peer review of manuscripts submitted for publication:

• Conflict of interest in the role of the reviewer

• Confidentiality of information in the manuscript

• Role of the adviser in the professional development of a graduate student

Although this scenario is not based on a single actual incident, each of the scenario’s elements occurs frequently in research in science and …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Animals, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This scenario highlights ethical issues in reporting violations in a situation where extensive federal regulations and guidance apply. Specifically, the lab was using animals in ways that violated its own protocol and included making unauthorized purchases of animals.

The driving issue in this scenario is how to handle the discovery that another lab might have violated these regulations. Labs often have a great deal of autonomy and faculty members may feel uncomfortable questioning the conduct of their colleagues. Professor Prenlen appears to be violating animal care regulations, and involving students in those violations. This creates a difficult situation for the …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Whistle-Blowing And Professional Relationships, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This role-play focuses on a whistle-blowing scenario involving data management issues in a research lab, complicated by uncomfortable personal relationships. Whistle-blowing involves raising concerns or allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct. There is an obligation for whistle-blowers to do so in good faith, which means based on reasonable belief or facts. Suspecting that someone has engaged in research misconduct is one of the most difficult situations researchers face. This is especially true when relationships are strained for other reasons.

If you have the suspicion of research misconduct, the possible consequences for all involved can be serious. To handle the situation responsibly …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Authorship, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This role-play deals with issues concerning authorship credit. Concerns about authorship raise the ethical principle of fairness because people should receive credit for their contributions. Authors of a scientific work must have made substantial or significant contributions to the project because they are taking public responsibility for its content. Authors must also be willing and able to respond to questions about the work. The hard part of authorship is deciding what kind of intellectual contribution counts as substantial or significant and therefore warrants authorship. Despite the availability of guidelines, there are differences of opinions within and between scientific disciplines. Broad …

Responsible Conduct Of Research Role-Plays: Mentoring, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, C. K. Gunsalus, M. C. Loui, And Their Students At The University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This scenario highlights the mismatch of expectations that can arise in a mentoring relationship between a graduate student and a research adviser. The adviser wants a solely professional relationship, but the student seeks a more personal relationship. Their inconsistent desires lead to inconsistent expectations about how long they should meet and what they should discuss, and subsequently to misunderstandings about the preliminary results.

Some of the problems in this scenario could have been avoided had the adviser and student negotiated mutual expectations and responsibilities when they first began working together. In general, a professor and student should agree on expectations, …

Research Ethics: An Introduction, Tom Regan

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Research Ethics: an Introduction focuses both on how Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) fits into the field of applied ethics and on procedures for making decisions that have a moral component. Tom Regan presents “Morally Relevant Questions: A Check List” with the central theme of balancing conflicting obligations. We expand this discussion with several classic resources by well known experts in research ethics that articulate critical topics. We present a Case Study from The Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. We consider the question of professional codes and think about the toll of making the right decision. In the Additional …

The Mentoring Of Graduate Students, Margaret King

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

The Mentoring of Graduate Students presents basic issues that face both mentors and their protégés. Margaret King, the Graduate School, is our faculty guide for this module. We focus on some of the ethical values most central to the mentoring process such as justice and the idea of contracts. One of the challenges of the mentoring experience is that it involves rules and practices both tangible and intangible. Dr. King explores some of these intangibles- Right Attention, Right Balance, Right Empowerment and Right Boundaries- in the central essay and we focus on them additionally in our Central Theme section. We …

Responsible Authorship And Peer Review, James Wilson

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Responsible Authorship and Peer Review presents the basic issues facing researchers at the publication stage of research. We focus on some of the ethical values particularly relevant to publication: honesty, objectivity, trust, collegiality, and the problem of power differentials. We present Jim Wilson’s Guidelines for Authors and the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) Guidelines: ORI has also posted extensive materials on authorship and peer review issues. We present a Case Study from The Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. We consider the challenges of peer review, especially in terms of innovation in research. In the Resources section, you will find …

Professional Responsibility And Codes Of Conduct, Nell Kriesberg

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Professional Responsibility and Codes of Conduct presents an overview of major issues concerning professionalism as they relate to the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). Joe Herkert emphasizes both the micro (between individuals) and macro (between professionals and society) ethical dimensions of professional responsibility and codes of conduct. We compare ethical codes with aspects of moral theory, expanding the discussion with some of the classical readings for this topic. We present a case study from the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. We consider the complex issue of whistle-blowing. We close with a sampling of additional resources.

Human Subjects In Research, Matt Ronning

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Human Subjects in Research presents basic ethical issues that face researchers when doing work with human participants. Matt Ronning, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Administration Sponsored Programs and Regulatory Compliance, (SPARCS) is our guide for this module. In the Overview section we review chapters from two well known textbooks on Research Ethics. In the Applied Ethics section we focus on the consent form as a contract and comment upon the recurring topics of Justice and Honesty as they apply particularly to human subjects. In the Central Theme section we review institutional guidelines, both at the national and institutional level, utilizing …

Rightdoing And Misconduct In Research, Rebeca Rufty, Nell Kriesberg

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Rightdoing and Research presents the major issues concerning research integrity and misconduct; we intend this to be more of a reference handbook than the other modules in the series. Our faculty expert for this module is Becky Rufty, the Graduate School. Concepts of Rightdoing and integrity are discussed, and we expand the discussion with several key articles in the evolution of research ethics literature. Ethical concerns about ambiguity and trust are explored, as is the idea of micro and Macroethics. We focus on the resources at NC State University for promoting research integrity, as well as national guidelines. We present …

Intellectual Property - Copyright, Peggy Hoon

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

The goal of this module is to present the major issues surrounding intellectual property (IP): rather than attempt to discuss all four types of IP, trademarks, trade secrets, patents and copyright, we will focus on copyright. Our Faculty Expert for this module is Peggy Hoon, Director of the Scholarly Communications Center, NC State University. The Overview section presents two chapters from two well known textbooks on research ethics. In the Applied Ethics portion we discuss the idea of the labor contract and the idea of the Intellectual Commons to clarify some of the more complex issues. In the Central Theme …

Responsible Use Of Statistical Methods, Larry Nelson, Charles Proctor, Cavell Brownie

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Responsible Use of Statistical Methods focuses on good statistical practices. In the Introduction we distinguish between two types of activities; one, those involving the study design and protocol (a priori) and two, those actions taken with the results (post hoc.) We note that right practice is right ethics, the distinction between a mistake and misconduct and emphasize the importance of how the central hypothesis is stated. The Central Essay, Identification of Outliers in a Set of Precision Agriculture Experimental Data by Larry A. Nelson, Charles H. Proctor and Cavell Brownie, is a good paper to study. The Applied Ethics section …

Science And The Media: Ethics Issues, Joann Burkholder

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This module addresses the complex interface of research and the media; this interface necessarily involves issues of public policy, however, for the purposes of this module we will focus on media issues and touch on public policy in the Thinking Outside the Box section. For simplicity, when we refer to “media” we are speaking of journalists covering the science beat. In the Introduction we talk about the special collaboration between the media and the researcher and the challenges both face in communicating science to the public at large. We note the ethical component inherent in all communication and include quotations …