Resources for Teaching Research Ethics

TRE Workshop Resources | Case Studies | Federal Policies and Other Documents | Syllabi | Web Sites | Other Resources

TRE Workshop Resources

• A short list of useful resources for teaching research ethics.
• Essays by the TRE project director, presented annually at the workshop:
  • Using Short Writing Assignments in Teaching Research Ethics
  • Using Small Group Assignments in Teaching Research Ethics
  • Using Case Studies in Teaching Research Ethics
  • Providing Professional Training in Research Ethics
  • Assessing Student Learning in the Responsible Conduct of Research
• Slides and handouts for the TRE project director's plenary sessions at the 2011 Teaching Research Ethics Workshop.
  • Teaching Research Ethics: An Overview - handout/outline | slides | slide notes
  • Assessing Student Learning and Evaluating Courses and Programs in Research Ethics - handout/outline | slides | slide notes
• An archive of Trends, an informal newsletter (no longer being published).
• An outdated annotated bibliography on teaching research ethics.

Case Studies

Moral Reasoning in Scientific Research: Cases for Teaching and Assessment | Cases by Kenneth D. Pimple | RCR Role-Play Scenarios | Other Cases

Moral Reasoning in Scientific Research: Cases for Teaching and Assessment

Source: http://poynter.indiana.edu/mr/mr-main.shtml.

Moral Reasoning in Scientific Research is a unique 80-page booklet of materials for teaching the responsible conduct of science in college and university science courses. Intended as a teaching aid for science faculty members, the booklet was developed at the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at Indiana University-Bloomington as part of the Teaching Research Ethics project. A poll of persons who have used the booklet indicates that it is a valuable resource for teaching the responsible conduct of science.

The materials focus on teaching and assessing moral reasoning, an essential component in ethical decision making. Included are:

• an introduction to our approach;
• instructions on using the materials;
• an essay for students on "Developing a Well-Reasoned Response to a Moral Problem in Scientific Research;" and
• six short (one-to-two page) case studies in research ethics.

Each case study presents a problem in research ethics and is accompanied by a set of "Notes for Discussion and Assessment." The "Notes" provide extensive discussion of the implicit ethical issues and points of conflict, interested parties, consequences, and moral obligations, and includes a checklist for evaluating students' responses to the case. Issues covered include data ownership, plagiarism, whistle blowing, data selection/exclusion, collegial relations, and animal use. Links to the essay "Developing a Well-Reasoned Response to a Moral Problem in Scientific Research;" and the individual cases in PDF format can be found below.

The materials were developed under a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education by Muriel J. Bebeau, Ph.D., Center for the Study of Ethical Development, University of Minnesota; Kenneth D. Pimple, Ph.D., Poynter Center; Karen M. T. Muskavitch, Ph.D., Biology, Indiana University; David H. Smith, Ph.D., Poynter Center and Religious Studies, Indiana University; and Sandra L. Borden, Poynter Center.

• Moral Reasoning in Scientific Research: Cases for Teaching and Assessment. The whole booklet.
• Developing a Well-Reasoned Response to a Moral Problem in Scientific Research. An essay for students to read prior to case discussion.
• The Jessica Banks Case. Jessica Banks has just earned her Ph.D. and wants to take her lab notebooks when she leaves for her new job. Her lab director, Brian Hayward, objects. She wonders what to do.
• The Charlie West Case. Charlie West, a post-doctoral fellow, is tempted to use in his grant proposal the background section of someone else's grant proposal. (Related to the Diane Archer case.)
• The Diane Archer Case. Professor Diane Archer discovers plagiarized materials in a grant proposal submitted by Charlie West, a post-doctoral fellow she knew when he was a graduate student. (Related to the Charlie West case.)
• The Marty Brown Case. Professor Marty Brown wants to exclude what he sees as anomalous data from a study he is conducting.
• The Bob Bailey Case. Bob Bailey is a graduate student whose work is not going well. He blames his troubles in part on the romantic relationship that has developed between his lab director, Peter Martin, and one of his classmates, Sarah Stern. Bailey is concerned that their relationship is (a) bad for Stern and (b) bad for the lab, and he is considering bringing a complaint to the department chair. In an extension to this case, Bailey brings his complaint to the chair, David O'Donald. The chair dismisses the complaint because the relationship appears to be voluntary; he tells Bailey to get to work.
• The Jenny Ito Case. Graduate student Jenny Ito is instructed by her lab director, Chris Holzer, to apply bacteria to pins inserted in rabbits to test the rate of infection for surgical pins; this is not in the protocol.

Cases and other resources for teaching by Kennneth D. Pimple

Source: http://mypage.iu.edu/~pimple/home.html#Cases.

• Adventures in Collaborative Research - 6-page script-style case with questions for discussion. Social science (oral history) and interdisciplinary research. Issues include authorship, mentoring, collaborative research, miscommunication, and human subjects research.
• Adventures in Collaborative Research (abridged version) - 3-page abridgement of "Adventures in Collaborative Research" with fewer issues. No questions for discussion.
• The Alex Saunders Case - 5-page script-style case. Classroom-based research with young children. Issues include honesty and obligations, mentorship, and research with young children.
• The Allan Mathers Case - 2-page abridgement of "The Alex Saunders Case" with fewer issues.
• The Cynthia Lee Case - 2-page script-style case. Classroom-based research with elementary school children. Issues include human subjects research and research by graduate students.
• Exercise: Rules - 1-page, 7 step out-of-class exercise to familiarize graduate students (and others) with the rules governing their research.
• Exercise: Report Reviews - 2-page in-class or out-of-class exercise. Quantitative experimental research. Issues include publication practices, outliers, fabrication, falsification, and research oversight (mentoring).
• Exercise: Two-statement icebreaker - 1-page in-class exercise with comments on my use of the exercise. Any kind of research.
• Faculty Responsibilities and Student Rights - 4-page script-style case. Graduate and undergraduate education. Issues include grading, mentoring, and respect.
• The Least You Need to Know about the Rules Governing Human Subjects Research at IU - 2-page information sheet. Briefly describes the Belmont principles, the definition of human subjects research, the three forms of review, and other useful information.
• An Idiosyncratic Array of Information on Research Ethics - 1-page information sheet. Includes information on reporting suspected research misconduct at IU; what to know before making an allegation; useful Web sites; and a short form of "The Ten Most Important Things to Know about Research Ethics."
• The Nexus I Case - 2-page script-style case (unusually heavy on background). Classroom-based research. Issues include collaboration between researchers and elementary schools.
• The Officer Cain Case - 1-page in-class exercise, with suggestions for use. An attempt to highlight differences between consequentialist/utilitarian and deontological/rule-based reasoning.
• The Polly Wells Case - 2-page, script-style case with questions for discussion. Qualitative human subjects research (interviewing). Issues include the differences between gossip, journalism, and sociology; and the rules governing human subjects research.
• The ten most important things to know about research ethics. (Earlier versions.)

RCR Role-Play Scenarios

Role-Play Scenarios for Teaching Responsible Conduct of Research, developed by Michael C. Loui and C.K. Gunsalus.

Source: http://www.onlineethics.org/Topics/RespResearch/ResCases/RCRroleplays.aspx

• Animals (RCR Role Plays)
• Authorship (RCR Role Plays)
• Conflict of Interest (RCR Role Plays)
• Hazardous Substances (RCR Role Plays)
• Human Subjects (RCR Role Plays)
• Mentoring (RCR Role Plays)
• Peer Review (RCR Role Plays)
• Whistleblowing Data Management (RCR Role Plays)
• Whistleblowing Professional Relationships (RCR Role Plays)

Other Cases

• Biomedical Research Integrity Cases University of Washington
• Ethical Dilemmas in Research Integrity Jane Brigham et. al. 2004.
• Ethics in Mental Health Research - Case Studies (about 50 cases by James DuBois, St. Louis University) and Case Discussion Framework
• A Guidebook for Teaching Selected Responsible Conduct of Research to a Culturally Diverse Trainee Group Madeline Alexander and Wendy Reed Williams
• Guidelines for Responsible Data Management in Scientific Research Clinical Tools, Inc.
• Head Transplant: The Truly Disturbing Truly Real Story A 14-minute documentary about neuroscientist Robert White's experiments in keeping disembodied brains alive and transplanting a monkey's head to a different monkey's body.
• Setting Expectations and Resolving Conflict Michigan State University Graduate School. Includes twelve very short video vignettes.
• Stanford Prison Experiment "A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment Conducted at Stanford University." A slide show with extensive information on Philip G. Zimbardo's infamous 1971 experiment in social psychology.

Federal Policies and Other Documents

Most of these documents are available from the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) or the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP), both of which have many, many other interesting resources.

• Commission on Research Misconduct. 1995. Integrity and Misconduct: Report of the Commission on Research Integrity. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. See also the report of the review group, below.
• Data Sharing and Access to Publications
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
    • NIH Data Sharing Policy. Links to several NIH statements, notices, and other documents on data sharing, including:
      • Final NIH Statement on Sharing Research Data (NOT-OD-03-032) February 26, 2003.
      • Data Sharing Regulations/Policy/Guidance Chart for NIH Awards August 30, 2006. "This chart is designed as a quick guide only for the purpose of identifying various data sharing regulation/policy/guidance documents applicable to NIH funding."
      • NIH Grants Policy Statement. 2010. 8.2 Availability of Research Results: Publications, Intellectual Property Rights, and Sharing Research Resources (October).
    • NIH Sharing Policies and Related Guidance on NIH-Funded Research Resources. Links to several NIH statements, policies, and other documents on sharing research results (publications) and data, including some of the above, and:
      • Key Elements to Consider in Preparing a Data Sharing Plan Under NIH Extramural Support December 2009.
  • National Science Foundation (NSF)
    • Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. January 2011. See especially
      • Part I. Grant Proposal Guide. II.C.2.j. Special Information and Supplementary Documentation (2nd bullet).
      • Part II. Award and Administration Guide. VI.D.4. Dissemination and Sharing of Research Results.
  • The White House. Office of Management and Budget. 1999. Circular A-110 Revised 11/19/93 As Further Amended 0/30/99. See especially Subpart C - Property Standards - 36 Intangible Property.
• Investigating Research Integrity: Proceedings of the First ORI Research Conference on Research Integrity (2000)
• National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. 1979. The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
• ORI Guidelines for Institutions and Whistleblowers.
• ORI Handbook for Institutional Research Integrity Officers
• ORI Model Policy for Responding to Allegations of Scientific Misconduct (2006)
• Review Group on Research Misconduct and Research Integrity. 1999. Report of the Department of Health and Human Services Review Group on Research Misconduct and Research Integrity. Department of Health and Human Services.
  See also the report of the commission on research integrity, above.
• RCR Education Policy
• Research Misconduct Policies-PHS/NIH
  • 1989. Responsibility of PHS Awardee and Applicant Institutions for Dealing With and Reporting Possible Misconduct in Science [Federal Register 54 (August 8, 1989):32449ff].
  • 1999. Proposed Federal Policy on Research Misconduct To Protect the Integrity of the Research Record [Federal Register 64 (October 14, 1999):55722ff].
  • 2000. Federal Policy on Research Misconduct [Federal Register 65 (December 6, 2000):76260ff].
    
  • 2005. Public Health Service Policies on Research Misconduct; Final Rule [Federal Register 70 (May 17, 2005):28369ff].
• Research Misconduct Policy-NSF: 2002. Research Misconduct
• Steneck, Nicholas H. 2004. RCR Education Resource Bibliography. Office of Research Integrity.
• Steneck, Nicholas H. 2000. Assessing the Integrity of Publicly Funded Research: A Background Report for the November 2000 ORI Research Conference on Research Integrity. Office of Research Integrity.
• Steneck, Nicholas H. 2007. ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research. Revised ed. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Syllabi

This list is far from comprehensive; use Google to search for "research ethics syllabus" and you'll get over 200,000 hits.

• Anthropological Research Design. ANTH 410 2007. Barry Lewis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Case Studies in Research Ethics. PHIL 7570 2008-09. University of Utah.
• Community and Environmental Health Research Ethics. Dianne Quigley, Syracuse University.
• Community-Based Environmental Health Methods for Research Intervention and Evaluation. 2002. Doug Brugge, Tufts University.
• Community-Driven Epidemiology and Environmental Justice. EPID 278 2002. Steven Wing, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
• Ethics. Astronomy Department, Indiana University Bloomington.
• Ethics in Scientific Research/Scientific Ethics. 2011. Michael Kalichman, University of California, San Diego.
• Ethics of Human Subjects Research. Holly Taylor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
• Ethics of Scientific Research. MEHU 6101 2003. Ellen S. More, University of Texas Medical Branch.
• Introduction to Research Ethics. PHI 816 2006. Gary Comstock, North Carolina State University.
• Nature and Practice of Scientific Integrity. EPI 827 2009. Terry A. May, Michigan State University.
• Research Ethics. BIMS 7100 2011. University of Virginia School of Medicine.
• Research Ethics: Responsibilities to Society, Science, and Self. G601 2010. Kenneth D. Pimple, Indiana University Bloomington.
• Research Ethics and the Dissertation Prospectus. HIS/HOS 503. Angela Creager and John Haldon, Princeton University.
• Research Ethics and Public Health. MPH 625 2005. Bill Jenkins, Morehouse College.
• Research Ethics for the Life Sciences. Neal Stewart and Lannett Edwards, University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
• Research Ethics in Biomedical Sciences. DCS 5206 2007. Fabrice Jotterand, Southwestern Medical Center.
• Research Ethics with Underserved Groups. 57.522 2004. Linda Silka, University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
• Responsible Conduct of Research and Related Policy Issues. 2008. Richard Kessin and Jaime S. Rubin, Columbia University.

Web Sites

• American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics (ASLME) "Where multidisciplinary education improves practice®: a unique resource for attorneys, physicians, nurses, ethicists, educators, students, administrators and other professionals shaping health care for the 21st century."
• Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) "is committed to encouraging high quality interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching in practical and professional ethics by educators and practitioners who appreciate the theoretical and practical impacts of their subjects."
• Association of Internet Researchers "the top international association for students and scholars in any discipline in the field of Internet studies." See especially the Ethics Guide.
• Bioethics Research Library, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University
• Conflict of Interest Toolkit, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
• CODEX Swedish Research Council. "This website's aim is to give researchers and other interested parties access to and information on the guidelines, ethics codes and laws that regulate and place ethical demands on the research process."
• Collaborative Initiative for Research Ethics in Environmental Health "Provides course development, training, educational resources and case study development on improving research ethics in environmental health."
• Consortium Ethics Program A cooperative effort of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Medical Ethics and the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania
• EAREE (Extend and Access Research Ethics Education) "an education and research initiative, the nation's first to disseminate a standardized, interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, communally-oriented collaborative online course in research ethics to all of the doctoral-degree granting institutions in a state university system."
• Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice, American Statistical Association
• Ethics and Science Washington University Libraries
• Ethics CORE (Collaborative Online Resource Environment), National Center for Professional and Reasearch Ethics - "collaboration tools, multimedia educational materials, access to research literature, RCR mentoring materials, and more."
• ethicsresearch.com (also pedpsych.org and psychethics.com) "Clinical, forensic, and ethics consultation."
• EthicShare "a research and collaboration website designed to help you do research, share, collaborate, and participate in the field of ethics."
• Financial Conflicts of Interest Policies, notices, and more on financial conflicts of interest (CoI) from the perspective of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health.
• Foundation for Biomedical Research "the nation's oldest and largest organization dedicated to improving human and veterinary health by promoting public understanding and support for humane and responsible animal research."
• International Journal of Internet Research Ethics "the first peer-reviewed online journal, dedicated specifically to cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural research on Internet Research Ethics. All disciplinary perspectives, from those in the arts and humanities, to the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences, are reflected in the journal."
• National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) "On behalf of the biomedical research community, the National Association for Biomedical Research advocates for sound public policy in support of ethical and essential animal research."
• National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC)
• Office of Inspector General (OIG), National Science Foundation (NSF) "By identifying individuals who attempt to abuse the public trust or defraud government programs, the OIG also enforces integrity in agency operations."
• Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) "The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) provides leadership in the protection of the rights, welfare, and wellbeing of subjects involved in research conducted or supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)."
• Office of Research Integrity (ORI) "The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) promotes integrity in biomedical and behavioral research supported by the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) at about 4,000 institutions worldwide. ORI monitors institutional investigations of research misconduct and facilitates the responsible conduct of research (RCR) through educational, preventive, and regulatory activities."
• Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Research (OEC), National Academy of Engineering
• OpenSeminar in Research Ethics "a repository of opensource courses in the ethical and responsible conduct of research in the sciences and engineering disciplines."
• Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues
• Project for Scholarly Integrity (PSI) "an initiative of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), seeks to advance the scope and quality of graduate education in the ethical and responsible conduct of research." See especially the PSI online library.
• Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) "advances the highest ethical standards in the conduct of biomedical, social science, behavioral, and educational research. We accomplish this mission through education, membership services, professional certification, and public policy initiatives."
• Responsible Conduct of Research Education Committee (RCREC) "promote[s] high quality teaching and scholarship in research ethics and research ethics education."
• Scientific Freedom, Responsibility, and Law Program (SFRL), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) "focuses on the ethical, legal, and social issues associated with the conduct of research and with advances in science and technology."
• Scientists Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW) "dedicated to balancing animal welfare and excellence in basic and applied scientific inquiry."
• Survival Skills and Ethics Program, University of Pittsburgh
• Teaching Research Ethics Workshop, Indiana University Bloomington

Other Resources

• AAAS-Office of Research Integrity (ORI) Bibliography
• Best Practices for Ensuring Scientific Integrity and Preventing Misconduct, Global Science Forum
• NSF OIG Case Closeout Memoranda A searchable database of memoranda for all of NSF's case investigations for over 20 years; each memorandum provides "a brief description of the matter investigated and its outcome."
• Office of Research Integrity (ORI)
  • The Lab: Avoiding Research Misconduct An "interactive movie" in which the user makes "decisions about integrity in research that can have long-term consequences. The simulation addresses Responsible Conduct of Research topics such as avoiding research misconduct, mentorship responsibilities, handling of data, responsible authorship, and questionable research practices." A facilitator's guide is available.
  • Responsible Authorship Quick Guide "Detecting commong mistakes and considering dilemmas in responsible authorship."
• Overcoming the Cultural Issues Associated with Plagiarism for International Students, Robert Gordon University
• Responsible Research, Volume 1: Ensuring the Integrity of the Research Process (Executive Summary)
• Responding to Research Wrongdoing: User Friendly Guide
• Science and Engineering Ethics A multi-disciplinary quarterly journal
  By special arrangement with Science and Engineering Ethics, we are pleased to make available these articles in .pdf format. The articles are copyrighted by Opragen Publications; institutions wishing to print multiple copies for educational or other purposes should request permission from Opragen Publications, PO Box 54, Guildford, Surrey GU1 2YF, UK; Tel/Fax: +44 1483 560074 info@opragen.co.uk; http://www.opragen.co.uk
  
  • Gunsalus, C.K. 1998. How to blow the whistle and still have a career afterwards. Science and Engineering Ethics 4:51-64
  • Gunsalus, C.K. 1998. Preventing the need for whistleblowing: Practical advice for university administrators. Science and Engineering Ethics 4:75-94
  • Pimple, K.D. 2002. Six domains of research ethics: A heuristic framework for the responsible conduct of research. Science and Engineering Ethics 8:191-205