1. Adapted from On Being a Scientist, 3rd Ed.
PSC 3001 – Introduction to Senior Projects in Science
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Adapted from On Being a Scientist, 3rd Ed.

2. On Being a Scientist, 3rd Edition
“The scientific enterprise is built on a foundation of trust.”
On Being a Scientist provides an overview of the professional standards of science
This book was prepared under the auspices of the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, which is a joint committee of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

3. Science is not easy!
“…the rewards of science are not easily achieved.”
Scientific breakthroughs are elusive
Researchers are often under pressure to produce results
There are many difficult decisions to make:
Design of experiments
Interpretation and presentation of results
Interactions with colleagues
Time and resource allocation
Credit for scientific accomplishments
Social and personal beliefs and values

4. Research Misconduct What is research misconduct? The Misconduct Scale:
The US government defines scientific misconduct as “fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism (FFP) in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.”
It does not include honest errors (unless uncorrected), differences of opinion or interpretation, or authorship debates
The Misconduct Scale:
Innocent Ignorance
Surprising Sloppiness
Malicious Malfeasance

5. Innocent Ignorance Misconduct of the uninformed kind
Noncompliance based on a true lack of understanding of the regulatory consequences of an action
The act itself is usually intentional, but the noncompliance is unintentional
The act is not usually done to deliberately deceive
Examples:
Backdating a signature on a consent form because a person forgot to date the form originally
Discarding source documents after accurate transcription and reporting transcribed data as original

6. Surprising Sloppiness
Misconduct of the lazy kind
Noncompliance due to inaction, inattention to detail, inadequate staff, or a lack of supervision
The act itself may be intentional or unintentional
Noncompliance is unintentional and is usually repeated
Examples:
Consent forms inadvertently not obtained from test subjects
Data inaccurately transcribed or recorded
Data estimated rather than actually measured
Standard operating protocols ignored or shortcuts taken

7. Malicious Malfeasance
Misconduct of the sleazy kind
Usually noncompliance due to deliberate action to deceive or mislead
Includes Fabrication, Falsification, and/or Plagarism (FFP)
See Research Misconduct handout for definitions of FFP
Examples:
Creating data that was never obtained
Altering data that was obtained by substituting different data
Omitting data that was obtained that would usually be recorded
Misrepresenting data from another source as your own

8. Dealing with Scientific Misconduct
Prevention
Identify and eliminate or minimize risk factors for misconduct
Detection
Monitor and recognize signs of fraud
Correction
Promptly investigate and report fraud
Have you recently heard of any cases of scientific misconduct in the news?

9. How would you classify this type of research misconduct?
A Breach of Trust
How would you classify this type of research misconduct?
See story on page 16 of On Being a Scientist
Jan Hendrik Schön, former physicist at Bell Laboratories

10. Fabrication in a Grant Proposal
See case study on page 17 of On Being a Scientist
Vijay and the “submitted” manuscript
1. Do you think that researchers often exaggerate the publication status of their work in written materials?
2. Do you think the department acted too harshly in dismissing Vijay from the graduate program?
3. If Vijay later applied to a graduate program at another institution, does that institution have the right to know what happened?
4. What were Vijay’s adviser’s responsibilities in reviewing the application before it was submitted?

11. Is It Plagiarism? See case study on page 18 of On Being a Scientist
Professor Lee and the grant proposal
1. Does the copying of a few isolated sentences in this case constitute plagiarism?
2. By citing the journal paper, has Lee given proper credit to the other author?

12. Research Misconduct in the News
Organometallics SI example from July 2013: