Module 7Ethics and Professionalism

Kathleen Burnett, FSU

Linda Smith, UIUC

Harry Bruce, UW

Outline

• Administrivia

• Academic Misconduct

- Problems

• Ethics in Scholarship / Teaching

- Faculty Responsibilities

Outline

• Academic Honor Code

- Cheating

• Conflict of Commitment

• Conflict of Interest

• Presentations

Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct includes:

1) Fabrication or falsification of data including intentionally misleading, selective or deliberately false reporting of credentials or other academically related information

Academic Misconduct

2) Unacknowledged appropriation of the work of others, including plagiarism, the abuse of confidentiality with respect to unpublished materials, or misapprop- riation of physical materials

Academic Misconduct3) Evasion of, or intentional failure after

notice by the University/Federal/State or other appropriate agency to comply with research regulations or requirements, including but not limited to those applying to human subjects, lab animals, new drugs, radioactive materials, genetically altered organisms, safety, etc.; and

Academic Misconduct

4) Other conduct which seriously deviates from accepted ethical standards in scholarship

~

Note: It does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretations or judgments of data

Academic Misconduct• According to Mann, for science all three

acts are the same

• Someone is led to disbelieve something that is actually true or to believe something that is actually false

• It makes little difference to the progress of science whether an error is intentional or not

Academic Misconduct• Admitting error is not enough

• As academics, we have an obligation to check all our data thoroughly and to draw only valid conclusions from them

• Caveat: doesn’t mean that we can only advance hypotheses that we know to be correct – certainly not!

Academic Misconduct

• Nor does it mean there won’t be contradictions

• OTOH, hypotheses that are unlikely should not be advanced, conclusions that are not supported by data should be withheld and obvious variables must be controlled

Academic Misconduct

• Finally, fraud, misconduct and errors due to sloppiness undermine the most fundamental tenet of science, that of trust

• Number of arenas where unethical behavior can occur

Potential Problems With Gathering Data

• Collecting data without appropriate controls

• Omitting controls others have pointed out

• Using inappropriate sample sizes

Potential Problems With Gathering Data

• Selecting what to observe

• Failing to see events or seeing nonexistent ones

• Failing to preserve data for a suitable length of time

Potential Problems with Data Processing

• Editing data

• Making up data

• Using inappropriate statistical tests

• Violating assumptions

Potential Problems with Data Processing

• Performing multiple statistical tests

• Probability pyramiding

• Using "canned" computer software

Problems with Writing a Paper

• Using other people's words or data (plagiarism)

• Not reporting contradictory observations you made

• Putting your name on work you didn't do

• Not reporting others' related or contra- dictory work

Problems with Writing a Paper

• Changing the hypothesis for the paper

• Gradually changing from "far out possibility" to "established fact"

• Concluding "cause and effect" when only "correlation" is demonstrated

• Writing an abstract with no data

Problems with Writing a Paper

• Failing to report negative results

• Publishing the same results many times

• Failing to allow review of the manuscript or the obtain approval from all authors

Problems with Reviewing

• Obtaining a secondary citation for his own publication in the guise of manuscript improvement

• Pirating the topic of an article

• Providing reverse criticism on a second review

Problems with Reviewing

• Quibbling excessively over minor points

• Blocking publication for invalid or nonscientific reasons

Problems with Editing

• Failing to respond to inquiries from authors• Excessively delaying review without

explanation• Losing a manuscript without advising

authors• Deleting portions of a manuscript without

coordination• Abetting a reviewer w/ secondary citations

Role of Scientific Judgment

• Gray areas

• Artifacts vs. real data

• When to include; when to exclude – matter of judgment

• Ongoing need for “healthy skepticism”

Additional Causes of Misconduct

• Deadlines

• Productivity and competition

• Collaborative and individual work

• Criticism and trust

• Multiple roles

• Processes and products

• Lack of information

Violations and Sanctions

• The university (and professional associations) monitors and applies sanctions in response to violations of normative practices in scholarship, teaching and research

Ethics in Scholarship

• Attribution

• Plagiarism

- Quoting without proper acknowledge-

ment

- Paraphrasing

Ethics in Teaching

• Being a responsible teacher

- confidentiality

- racial and sexual harassment

- favoritism

- exploitation

• Teaching responsible conduct

Faculty Responsibilities

It is essential that a faculty member:

• act in a manner that best serves the education and professional development of students

• interact with students in a professional, civil, and collegial manner in accordance with University policies and relevant laws

Faculty Responsibilities

• impartially evaluate student performance regardless of the student’s religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, or other criteria that are not germane to academic evaluation

Faculty Responsibilities

• promise a reasonable degree of confidentiality in communication with students, taking care not to discuss a student’s performance, research results, or behavior with other students

Faculty Responsibilities

• serve on graduate student committees without regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin of the graduate student candidate

• prevent personal rivalries with colleagues from interfering with duties as graduate advisor, committee member, or colleague

Faculty Responsibilities

• excuse themselves from serving on graduate committees when there is an amorous, familial, or other relationship between the faculty member and the student that could result in a conflict of interest

Faculty Responsibilities

• acknowledge student contributions to research presented at conferences, in professional publications, or in applications for copyrights and patents

Faculty Responsibilities

• ensure that a student’s experience as a teaching, research, or staff assistant contributes to his/her professional development and does not impede the student’s progress toward the degree

Faculty Responsibilities

• attain with graduate students a clear understanding of their specific research responsibilities, including time lines for completion of research and the thesis or dissertation

Faculty Responsibilities

• refrain from requesting students to do tasks not closely related to their academic or professional development for the personal advantage of a faculty member.

• familiarize themselves with policies that affect their graduate students

Faculty Responsibilities

• provide opportunities within the graduate program for students to seek assistance for their grievances without threat of retaliation

• respect students’ need to allocate their time among competing demands

Academic Honor Code

• Based on the premise that each student has the responsibility:

1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work

Academic Honor Code

2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and

3) to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community

Violations of the Academic Honor Code

• During examinations: referring to information not specifically condoned by the instructor; receiving information from a fellow student or another unauthorized source; obtaining, distributing, or referring to an “unauthorized” copy of an examination

Violations of the Academic Honor Code

• Regarding academic assignments: representing another's work or any part thereof, be it published or unpublished, as one's own; presenting or submitting any academic work in a manner that impairs the instructor's ability to assess the student's academic performance.

Violations of the Academic Honor Code

• Note plagiarism includes failure to use quotation marks or other conventional markings around material quoted from any source.

Preventing Cheating• Reduce the pressure

• Make reasonable demands

• Treat students as individuals

• Show an interest in your students

• Use alternate seating

• Use alternate test forms

• Be careful about extra copies

Handling Cheating

• Despite preventive measures, almost every instructor must at some time or other face the problem of what to do about a student who is cheating

• Policies for handling cheating are set by the University as well as by individual departments

Penalties

• Dismissal

• Suspension

• Probation

• Reprimand

• Other sanctions

Academic Integrity

• University personnel assure quality and integrity in their research and publications primarily by self-regulation, by adherence to individual ethical codes / professional standards, and by reference to the traditions and collegiality that characterize research institutions

Academic Integrity• Understanding intellectual property and

the correct use of copyrights

• Detecting and combating plagiarism

- E.g., Turnitin is a web-

based tool used for

deterring plagiarism

URL: www.turnitin.com/

Conflict of Commitment

• A conflict of commitment arises when the external activities of an academic staff member are so demanding of time or attention that they interfere with the individual's responsibilities to the University

Conflict of Interest

• A conflict of interest occurs when the academic staff member is in a position to advance one's own interests or that of one's family or others, to the University's detriment

Conflict of Interest

• Faculty and staff on active duty should be fully committed to teaching, research programs and administrative duties

• It is up to the individual to manage his or her time to meet all obligations with regard to teaching, research and other University service

Conflict of Interest

• Faculty members who are involved with technology transfer activities or outside companies should be cognizant of the individual's first priority to teaching, research and other University service

Conflict of Interest

• Faculty should manage their outside activities such that they do not reduce scholarly openness with colleagues or impact the quality and direction of research activities or the supervision of students

Conflict of Interest

• Sanctions for violating Conflict of Interest Policies depend on the severity of the violation and range from reprimand to dismissal

Syllabus Presentations