There are scientists for whom a course in research ethics will be less useful. Efraim Racker,1 in a 1989 article, described a student in his lab who was a “professional” fabricator of data. This student composed lab books without performing experiments, added radioactive material to gels to produce bands where he wished those bands to be, and lied to his colleagues about his actions. Another researcher, Elias Alsabti, described by D. J. Miller,2 was a meticulous plagiarizer. This physician-researcher fabricated his curriculum vitae, copied a colleague’s grant for his own use, published other people’s data under his own name, and co-authored his pilfered data with fictitious collaborators. Individuals such as these are unlikely to learn research ethics through instruction because they are not interested in becoming ethical practitioners. The ethics of scientific research is somewhat unique within professional ethics in the sense that good science requires the ethical practice of science (this is discussed in more detail in Section 4). Nevertheless, a course in research ethics cannot and should not have as its central focus the question, “Why should I be moral?” This question, while important, is not specific to the field of scientific research. A course in research ethics, as envisioned by the Dartmouth team, must be a course that teaches the tools for making ethical decisions relative to matters of research. It will be designed for those scientists who are already committed to being ethical researchers. Such a course should provide students the answers to the question, “How can I make moral decisions?” Although it is the fabricators and the plagiarizers whom we most often think of when we think of research misconduct, these are not the only people accused of misconduct. They are also not the only people who are guilty of misconduct. Many other scientists have had lives and careers affected by misconduct cases. It is undoubtedly unfair to generalize from a few cases of misconduct to an entire profession. Nevertheless, reported cases of misconduct are not uncommon, and this could reflect a failure to train students to the highest ethical standards. The 1993 Office of Research Integrity (ORI) publication reported the 1991–1992 caseload to include 29 institutional inquiries, 21 institutional investigations, and 7 ORI inquiries or investigations.3 The 1995 ORI publication reported the 1994 caseload as 13 institutional inquiries, 17 institutional investigations, and 8 ORI inquiries or investigations.4 Of actions closed in these years (55 in 1991–1992; 44 in 1994), some involved fabrication, some falsification, some plagiarism, and others some combination of fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and “other misconduct.” Slightly fewer than half of the investigated cases closed as of these reports were found to involve misconduct and resulted in sanction against the accused party. The academic rank of the accused ranged from technician to full professor. Cases were reported from a number of institutions, and the accused parties were funded by a variety of funding sources. Cases of misconduct are not simple matters to evaluate. One source of concern is confusion within the field of science about just what constitutes a punishable infringement of ethical standards. In the fields of engineering, law, and medicine, clear written guidelines exist for defining ethical conduct. Although some particularly difficult cases may test the limits of these guidelines, most do not. In scientific research, a written code of conduct is not available.5 The federal government6 and individual institutions7 have been struggling to clarify the standards under which misconduct can be adjudicated. The central definitions that delineate misconduct in science include fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism. However, these are confused by other less clear categories of misconduct, which include “other questionable behavior” or “other misconduct.” Within this confusion of definitions it is not always obvious to students or faculty where and toward whom their obligations lie.
Complicating the confusion generated by the way in which we define research misconduct is the teaching process by which students routinely learn about the ethical obligations of their profession. Traditionally a scientist trains with a single mentor. From this mentoring relationship the graduate student is expected to learn about scientific method, the body of knowledge that constitutes the specific field of science she is studying, and the “institution” of science. What is learned about the institution of science includes knowledge of the mechanics of obtaining funding, information on the writing of grants and papers, and an understanding of the roles and responsibilities for maintaining and sharing research data. As part of her instruction in all of these areas, it is assumed that she will also learn the ethics of scientific research. In the case of the story of Dr.