on being a scientist

• Researchers have three sets of obligations that motivate their adherence to professional standards
• Obligations:

  • Honor the trust of colleagues to avoid wasting time and resources
  • Obligation to themselves to achieve goals and maintain integrity
  • Obligation to act in ways that serve the public and contribute to scientific advancements
• Research is based on ethical values including honesty, fairness, objectivity, openness, trustworthiness, and respect for others
• Scientific Standard refers to the application of ethical values in research
• Scientific Misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism (FFP) in research
• Advising and Mentoring:

  • Adviser oversees research conduct
  • Mentor offers personal and professional guidance
• Treatment of Data:

  • Manipulating data in deceptive ways violates ethical values and professional standards
• Mistakes and Negligence:

  • All scientific research is susceptible to error
  • Researchers have an obligation to be as accurate and careful as possible
• Research Misconduct:

  • Fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism are elements of misconduct
  • Misconduct must be proven by a preponderance of evidence
• Responding to Suspected Violations of Professional Standards:

  • Suspicions should be raised in the form of questions
  • Important to remain objective, fair, and unemotional
• Human Participants and Animal Subjects in Research:

  • Researchers must protect the interests of research subjects
  • Guidelines for using animals in research include the three R's: Reduction, Refinement, Replacement
• Laboratory Safety in Research:

  • Government regulations and guidelines cover aspects like hazardous materials and safety procedures
  • Researchers should review safety information and procedures annually
• Sharing of Research Results:

  • Researchers are rewarded by peer recognition for making results public
  • Reasons to refrain from making results public before peer review
• Authorship and the Allocation of Credit:

  • Policies state that authors must make a substantial intellectual contribution
  • Authors must bear responsibility for errors in their work
• Intellectual Property:

  • Patent and copyright protect intellectual property rights
  • Copyright protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves
• Competing Interests, Commitments, and Values:

  • Conflict of interest refers to situations where interests interfere with professional judgment
  • Researchers must manage conflicts of interest, commitments, and values
• The Researcher in Society:

  • Researchers have a responsibility to reflect on how their work may be used in society
  • Values of honesty, fairness, collegiality, and openness guide researchers in their work
•   The Treatment of Data

  Researchers who manipulate their data in ways that deceive others, even if the manipulation seems insignificant at the time, are violating both the basic values and widely accepted professional standards of science. If data are altered to present a stronger case than the data warrant, researchers fail to fulfill all three of the obligations of researchers.
• Data Fabrication is the deliberate creation or falsification of research data. It can take many forms, including inventing data points, creating entire experiments out of whole cloth, or altering existing data without justification.
• Data Falsification involves changing real data into false ones. This includes deleting or modifying data points, adjusting measurements, or otherwise distorting the truth about what was observed.
• Plagiarism occurs when someone takes another person's words or ideas and presents them as his or her own. In scientific writing, plagiarism can include copying text verbatim from other sources without proper citation, paraphrasing someone else's work without attribution, or using another author's ideas without acknowledgement.
• Erratum – for a production error

  Corrigendum – for an author’s error
• Scientists often collaborate with one another, but they also compete for funding, recognition, and prestige. While competition can drive innovation and progress, it can also lead to unhealthy rivalries and cutthroat behavior.
•   Fabrication – “making up data or results”
• Falsification – “manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record”
• Plagiarism – “the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit”
• In addition, the federal statement says that to be considered research misconduct:

  1.      action must represent a “significant departure from accepted practices”,

  2.      must have been “committed intentionally, or knowingly, or recklessly”, and

  3.     must be “proven by a preponderance of evidence”