Title: The OpenSeminar in Research Ethics
1TheOpenSeminar in Research Ethics
- Gary Comstock, Ph.D.
- Professor of Philosophy
- Editor-in-chief, OpenSeminar in Research Ethics
2 - 6 CHALLENGES for doctoral universities
- 1. Scholarly communities
- 2. Humanities research
- 3. Inter-institutional collaborations
- 4. Human dollar resources
- 5. Interdisciplinary conversations
- 6. Discipline-specific discussions of social
responsibilities
3 - 6 CHALLENGES OpenSeminar in
Research Ethics ANSWER - 1. Scholarly community
- 2. Humanities research
- 3. Inter-institutional collaboration
- 4. Human dollar resources
- 5. Interdisciplinary conversations
- 6. Discipline specific social duties
Welcome empower students
Narratives moral philosophy
OpenSeminar.org
Self-guided online course
Active learning in large lectures
Small departmental break-outs
4Objectives for this session
- Assignment
- A. The problem
- Challenges to ethical decision-making
- Two responses
- A decision-making procedure
5Objectives for this session
- The problem
- 1. A history of abuse
- 2. A culture of cheating
- 3. A technical conception of education
- 4. Apathy
- B. Two responses
- 1. Rules
- 2. Communities
6A history of abuse, 1932 1974, US
US Public Health Service syphilis study,
Tuskegee, AL
7(No Transcript)
8Federal offenses research misconductFabricatio
n -- making up data or results and recording or
reporting them.Falsification -- manipulating
research materials or research subjects,
equipment, or processes, or changing, or omitting
data or results, such that the research is not
accurately represented in the research
record.Plagiarism -- appropriating and using as
ones own the documented ideas, processes,
results, or words of another without giving
appropriate creditFEDERAL POLICY ON RESEARCH
MISCONDUCT http//www.ostp.gov/html/001207_3
.html
9 How common? Graduate students Business
56 Engineering 54 Physical sciences
50 Medical and health-care
49 Law 45 Social science and humanities
39 - Donald McCabe, Center for Academic
Integrity, Duke U. http//today.reuters.com/news/
articlenews.aspx?typeoddlyEnoughNewsstoryid2006
-09-21T120800Z_01_N20379527_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-CHEA
TING.xmlsrcrss
10One case can cost a million dollars.Matt
Ronning, DirectorSponsored Programs
Less than 1 reported? Paul Cousins, Director
Office of Student Conduct
11.
12 44 of faculty say they have ignored
cheating. 52 have never reported cheating to
anyone else. Donald McCabe, Sociology, Rutgers
and Center for Academic Integrity, Duke 75,000
students 125 institutions 2 decades
self-reported data using paper and now online
survey 2001-02 data www.lib.washington.edu/about/
events/academic/Pres_2-24.ppt
13 More hot spotsAuthorship Who is
entitled to be an author? Who decides?
14I didnt exactly write the article, but well,
I didnt exactly do the research, either.
- From American Scientist, Sept-Oct 2004
15 More hot spotsMentoring What kinds of
relationships are appropriate between mentor
and mentee? What are my duties as a mentor?
What are my duties as a mentee? As a lab
manager, how do I handle differences in work
ethics? How and when do I blow the whistle on a
supervisor?
16CREDIT COURTESY OF MARY ALLEN
17(No Transcript)
18Objectives for this session
- A. Discuss five challenges to teaching ethical
decision making - 1. Academic and research misconduct
- 2. Culture of cheating
- 3. Technical conception of education
- 4. Apathy
- 5. No new resources
- B. Discuss two model responses
- 1. NIH
- 2. NSF
191. In your engineering education have you
ever gotten the message there is more to
being a good engineering professional than
being a state-of-the-art technical expert ?
Prof. Robert McGinn 3-yr survey of Stanford
engineering students, N 700
202. Have any of your engineering instructors
ever conveyed anything specific to you about what
is involved in being ethically responsible ?
http//ethics.stanford.edu/engin_ethics/tuto
rials.htm
21 Apathy Who cares? What's
important is getting the job done. How you get it
done is less important. All I'm doing is
emulating the behavior I'll need when I get out
in the real world. - Donald
McCabe http//today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.a
spx?typeoddlyEnoughNewsstoryid2006-09-21T120800
Z_01_N20379527_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-CHEATING.xmlsrc
rss
22Objectives for this session
- A. The Problem
- 1. A history of abuse
- 2. A culture of cheating
- 3. Technical conception of education
- 4. Apathy
- B. Two responses
- 1. Rule following
- 2. Community formation
23- The Belmont Report, 1979
- Rules to
- protect human subjects
- 1. Respect for persons
- 2. Beneficence
- 3. Justice
24Rules to protect human subjects
- National Commission for the Protection of
Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research
(1974-78) - Charge
- recommend to DHEW guidelines to protect the
rights and welfare of human subjects of
research, particularly those with disabilities
and develop principles to govern the ethical
conduct of research - Reports
- Fetal research, children, prisoners,
institutionalized mentally infirm, psychosurgery,
IRBs, The Belmont Report
25 Improved Standards for Laboratory Animals Act,
1985 IACUC
- Rules to
- protect
- animal
- subjects
- 1. Reduce
- 2. Refine
- 3. Replace
26Rules, rules, rules
27Rules Strengths a) Clear guidance on how
to behave b) Protection for subjects used in
research (IRB, etc.) c) Penalties for
non-compliance Weaknesses a) Junior
researchers supported and empowered? b)
Emotions and self-interests engaged? c)
Generalizable method for ethical decision
making? d) Topics coherent?
28How many rules are there? http//onlineethics.org
/reseth/phspolicy.htmlcorins
29 Weaknesses Some rules not clear. Some rules
contradictory. For many cases there is no
rule. Is rule-following the behavior we seek?
30Objectives for this session
- B. Two responses
- Rule following
- 2. Community formation
31- Where do students learn ethical decision making?
- Mentor, advisor
- Fellow graduate students
- Family
- Friends not in graduate school
- Other faculty
- Religious beliefs
- Discussions in courses, labs, seminars
- Professional organizations
- Courses dealing with ethical issues
- - J. P. Swazey, K. S. Louis, and M. S. Anderson,
The ethical training of graduate students
requires serious and continuing attention,
Chronicle of Higher Education 9 (March
1994)B12 J. P. Swazey, Ethical problems in
academic research, American Scientist
81(Nov./Dec. 1993)54253.
32- What is the most effective way to teach it?
- Interaction with faculty in research
- Informal discussion of ethical problems as they
occur - Discussion of ethics in regular courses
- Brown bag sessions
- Special courses devoted to ethics
- Department / university policies
- Codes of ethics of professional organizations
- J. P. Swazey, K. S. Louis, and M. S. Anderson,
The ethical training of graduate students
requires serious and continuing attention,
Chronicle of Higher Education 9 (March
1994)B12 J. P. Swazey, Ethical problems in
academic research, American Scientist
81(Nov./Dec. 1993)54253.
33(No Transcript)
34Course overview
The OpenSeminar in Research Ethics Sponsored by
NSF
35A method for making ethical decisions START
HERE What are the facts? Which of my interests
might be harmed? What courses of action are
open to me?
3
1
1. Self interests What course of
action is best for me in the long run?
3. All interests How do we maximize the ratio
of all interests satisfied over unsatisfied?
2
2. Professional interests What course of
action is best for us in the long run? How do
we respect the implicit and explicit promises
made to each other in the group?
36Three steps 1. MY interests I ought always
to do what is in my long-term, categorical
interests. 2. OUR interests I ought always
to do what is in my professions best interests.
Follow the rules Respect persons and
property be honest treat others fairly. 3.
ALL interests I ought always to do what is in
the best interests of all morally considerable
beings. Try to make the world a better place
Maximize the ratio of good over evil.
37OpenSeminar.org
38You know its not the honors and prizes and the
fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish
our souls.
Its the knowing that we can be trusted, that
we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock
of our very being is good stuff. -
Fred Rogers
39 Please join us! openseminar.org