Doing Global Science: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in the Global Research Enterprise - Hardcover

InterAcademy Partnership

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691170754 ISBN 13: 9780691170756

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2016

Synopsis

An essential introduction to the responsible conduct of science in today's interconnected world

This concise introductory guide explains the values that should inform the responsible conduct of scientific research in today's global setting. Featuring accessible discussions and ample real-world scenarios, Doing Global Science covers proper conduct, fraud and bias, the researcher's responsibilities to society, communication with the public, and much more. The book places special emphasis on the international and highly networked environment in which modern research is done, presenting science as an enterprise that is being transformed by globalization, interdisciplinary research projects, team science, and information technologies.

Accessibly written by an InterAcademy Partnership committee comprised of leading scientists from around the world, Doing Global Science is required reading for students, practitioners, and anyone concerned about the responsible conduct of science today.

• Provides practical guidance and instructions for doing scientific research in today's global setting
• Covers everything from responsible conduct to communication with the public
• Features numerous real-world scenarios drawn from an array of disciplines and national contexts
• Focuses on issues commonly encountered in international collaborations
• Written by a panel of leading experts from around the world
• An essential guide for practicing scientists and anyone concerned about fostering research integrity

About this title

About the Author

InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) is an umbrella organization formed by the merging of three established interacademy networks. The leadership of the new umbrella organization also includes representatives of four regional networks―in Africa, the Asia/Pacific region, Europe, and the Americas. IAP has 130 member academies, which together reach governments that represent 95 percent of the world's population.

From the Back Cover

"Doing Global Science is a comprehensive code of conduct for scientific research, and a guide to responsible interactions by researchers with funding agencies, journals, policymakers, the public, and each other. In an interconnected world that is increasingly knowledge based and data driven, the plethora of resources and references in this book is invaluable to scientists and science communicators at all levels."--Maria Spiropulu, California Institute of Technology

"Welcome and timely. Even for an old-style theoretician like myself with a romantic view of science as a totally free adventure, these guidelines are a ringing bell about numerous very real issues that we cannot ignore."--Carlo Rovelli, Aix-Marseille University

"This unique book offers an international perspective on the difficulties and challenges of doing research."--Merav Opher, Boston University

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading this concise and accessible book. Doing Global Science covers a broad range of topics and is full of relevant and extremely useful information."--Ralph R. Ristenbatt III, Pennsylvania State University

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Doing Global Science

A Guide to Responsible Conduct in the Global Research Enterprise

By Princeton University Press

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 2016 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-691-17075-6

Contents

Foreword, vii, 
Preface, ix, 
1 Responsible Conduct of Research and the Global Context: An Overview, 1, 
2 Planning and Preparing for Research, 9, 
3 Preventing the Misuse of Research and Technology, 21, 
4 Carrying Out Research, 31, 
5 The Researcher's Responsibilities to Society, 47, 
6 Preventing and Addressing Irresponsible Practices, 59, 
7 Aligning Incentives with Responsible Research, 73, 
8 Reporting Research Results, 81, 
9 Benefits and Challenges of International Collaborations, 93, 
10 Communicating with Policymakers and the Public, 101, 
References, 111, 
Committee on Research Integrity, 139, 
Biographical Sketches of the Committee Members, 141, 
Index, 147, 

CHAPTER 1

RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH AND THE GLOBAL CONTEXT

An Overview

Scientific research is one of the great adventures of our time. Researchers are members of a global community that is producing new knowledge at an unprecedented rate. This new knowledge is transforming society by contributing to the development of new technologies and by changing how we think about the natural world, ourselves, and our institutions.

The growth and accelerating pace of scientific discovery has made the twenty-first century an exciting time to be a researcher. Large international teams are working on problems that were impossible to solve in the past, such as the annotation of the human genome, the search for dark matter, or the analysis of "big data" derived from social media. New fields of research are opening up at the intersection of traditional disciplines, such as nanobiology and neuro-economics (Glimcher 2003; Nussinov and Alemán 2006). Researchers are generating knowledge that could fundamentally alter agriculture, energy production, environmental protection, communications, and many other aspects of human life. Our future on this planet will depend to a considerable extent on the products of research.

Like the rest of society, the research enterprise has been undergoing momentous changes. Information technology is revolutionizing how research is done and how researchers interact with each other. Most researchers work not just on individual tasks but as parts of research teams that include people with many different backgrounds and perspectives and may be international in scope. Governments around the world, recognizing the critical role of research in improving the well-being of their citizens, are increasing their support for science and engineering. As a result, millions more scientists and engineers are working today than was the case just two decades ago (NSB 2012).

The changes going on within research have created challenges. Team research can create conflict as well as opportunity. The rapid expansion of the research community may disrupt the transmission of traditions and ethical principles to new researchers. Increased competition for resources may intensify the pressures faced by researchers, including young investigators, to publish more papers and to publish in the most prestigious journals. Technology -enabled tools such as blogs and social media increase the speed of scientific communication but may also contribute to eroding collegiality or facilitate the spread of unreliable information. Many researchers travel to countries where they may encounter different research practices than they are used to, or they may become involved in interdisciplinary research that is unlike research they have done before. The research landscape has become more diverse, more interconnected, faster paced, and more complex than ever.

Throughout the history of research, young and early career researchers have learned about standards of conduct by working with more experienced researchers. This process of learning by doing will continue to be essential in the training of future generations of researchers. However, new researchers can benefit from having a readily accessible and compact source of guidance — guidance that more -experienced researchers need to review and follow as well. All researchers can benefit from a better understanding of changes in the research landscape and their possible impacts.

In 2008, the International Council for Science (ICSU) published a booklet providing guidance about the responsibilities and freedom of researchers to maximize the benefits of science for society. One year later, the educational guide On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research (NAS-NAE-IOM 2009) was published. In 2012, the InterAcademy Council (IAC) and IAP — The Global Network of Science Academies — published Responsible Conduct in the Global Research Enterprise: A Policy Report, which describes the values of research and how those values should guide the conduct of research. This 2012 report acknowledged that different disciplines and countries have varying research traditions and cultures. But it argued that the fundamental values of research transcend disciplinary or national boundaries and form the basis for principles of conduct that govern all research.

The educational guide you are reading now is an adaptation and expansion of the earlier policy report and was written by the same committee. It includes much of the same content and in some cases even the same language; text from the recommendations of the report is printed in boldface type when it appears in this publication. However, this publication has a different goal than previous documents. It has been written as a practical guide to conduct in a research environment that is being transformed by globalization, interdisciplinary research projects, team science, and information technologies. It addresses both long-standing issues in the responsible conduct of research and emerging issues. It is aimed not only at new researchers but at more-experienced researchers and research administrators, funders, and policymakers, all of whom are caught up in the broad trends that are reshaping the research enterprise.

This guide provides an overview of which research behaviors are responsible and to be embraced and which are irresponsible and to be avoided. It uses specific examples from a variety of areas to provide guidance relevant to researchers in all fields. The organization of the guide parallels the research process. The even -numbered chapters follow the process of research, from planning and preparing to undertake research (chapter 2) to carrying out research (chapter 4), to preventing and addressing irresponsible research practices (chapter 6), to reporting research results (chapter 8), to communicating with policymakers and the public (chapter 10). The odd-numbered chapters discuss broader issues associated with performing research: the researcher's responsibilities to try to prevent the misuse of research and related technology (chapter 3), the researcher's responsibilities to society in planning and carrying out research (chapter 5), aligning incentives with responsible research (chapter 7), and the benefits and challenges of international collaboration (chapter 9). The references and additional resources do not represent an exhaustive bibliographic source, but they provide the reader with further material about the topics covered in each chapter.

Two types of boxes accompany the text. Focus boxes illustrate the issues discussed in each chapter. Discussion scenarios describe hypothetical situations and related questions to foster debate.

A key premise of this project is that prevention is better than cure — that more and better efforts to educate and train researchers about the importance of adhering to high standards and good practices will speed the advance of knowledge and increase the positive impacts of research. Many publications are available that describe responsible conduct in science. What sets this guide apart is its emphasis on internationally harmonized standards in a rapidly changing global research environment. Some of these standards are still in flux and are not yet universally observed. But every researcher has a responsibility to contribute to the development and dissemination of these standards, just as every researcher has an obligation to maintain the integrity of research. Societies around the world have placed their trust in scientific research to generate knowledge for its own sake and to understand and solve major problems. To maintain this trust, everyone involved with the research enterprise must help ensure that research is conducted responsibly.

Terminology and Definitions in This Guide

Research

This report treats research as encompassing many forms of disciplined human thought, including the natural sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities. Research thus includes the generation of new knowledge in fields traditionally recognized as the sciences, whether theoretical, experimental, or computational, and in other areas grounded in the rational analysis of empirical evidence.

Irresponsible Conduct, Practices, or Behavior in Research

In this report, all unethical and harmful behaviors by researchers that relate to the conduct of research are referred to as irresponsible research practices, behavior, or conduct. The report refers to ethical and desirable research-related behaviors as responsible research practices or responsible research conduct.

Misconduct and Fraud

Different countries define research misconduct and research fraud to include serious categories of irresponsible research practices such as fabrication or falsification of data or plagiarism. Some countries include as misconduct or fraud such behaviors as obstructing an investigation into research misconduct or retaliating against a whistle -blower.

Bias

For the purposes of this report, a bias is a tendency or inclination on the part of a researcher or research group that introduces systematic error into the research process and damages the validity of the resulting work. Biases can affect research design, data collection and interpretation, or the reporting of results. While biases may be difficult or impossible to eliminate completely, steps can be taken to identify and minimize the most serious potential sources of bias.

Conflict of Interest

A researcher is considered to have a conflict of interest when financial, personal, or other considerations have the potential to compromise judgment or objectivity. Research sponsors and research institutions often require researchers to disclose possible conflicts of interest and may institute additional oversight procedures or restrict involvement of the conflicted researcher in the work.

Principal Investigator (PI)

This term refers to the senior researcher in a laboratory or research group. PIs are often the primary supervisors of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and are responsible for tasks such as submitting proposals and complying with research-related regulations.

Possible Ways of Using this Guide

This guide can be used in many different ways. It can be read by individuals, discussed in groups, or taught in seminars or classes. It can form the basis for an online seminar or discussion involving larger or more -distributed groups. A research group or institution could use it to supplement existing codes of conduct. Or it could be used to develop a code of conduct for a specific research field or institution. It is short enough to cover in a single workshop or can be combined with other materials in a broader treatment of responsible research.

The committee has sought to keep the guide concise. A growing wealth of excellent materials on research integrity and scientific responsibility is available, and the "References and Additional Resources" sections at the end of each chapter provide the necessary information about accessing such materials.

The discussion scenarios in this guide have been designed to foster examination of difficult questions. They do not have simple answers or easy solutions. One way to use these discussion scenarios would be to assign individuals or groups to present and defend contrasting viewpoints. Discussants could identify affected parties — whether individuals, institutions, research fields, or society — and the interests each party has in the situation. They then could explore possible actions and the consequences of each action. Discussants also could be encouraged to act out the roles of parties with conflicting interests to explore more deeply the tradeoffs and uncertainties associated with possible actions.

CHAPTER 2

PLANNING AND PREPARING FOR RESEARCH

Developing research ideas and a research plan are among the most exciting parts of the research process. It is a process that combines creativity, collaboration, judgment, and experience. It also involves the fundamental values of research and the principles of responsible conduct derived from those values. Good mentors can be extremely valuable to younger researchers with less experience in planning research.

Many issues of responsible conduct arise during the development of research ideas and plans. The sources of research ideas need to be acknowledged. Research proposals and plans are often peer reviewed before work begins. Interdisciplinary research is becoming more important, which has implications for peer review. This chapter describes issues to consider in planning and preparing for research.

The Values of Research

Responsible conduct in research is based on fundamental human values that apply in many other domains of human life. But the basic values that underlie research have specific implications for the conduct of research. The application of those values in developing a research plan and in successive phases of research produces distinct principles that can guide the actions of researchers and often dictate particular practices, such as full and accurate reporting of research results.

This guide is based on seven fundamental values of research:

• Honesty

• Fairness

• Objectivity

• Reliability

• Skepticism

• Accountability

• Openness

The list draws on a number of other guidelines and reports on research integrity from recent years (3rd WCRI 2013; AG -NHMRC-UA 2007; CAS 2007; CCA 2010; DFG 2013; ESF 2010; ESF-ALLEA 2011; GBAU 2004; IAS 2005; ICB 2010; JANU-JAPU -FJPCUA-SCJ 2014; NAS-NAE-IOM 2009; NRC-IOM 2002; RIA 2010; SCJ 2006; Steneck 2007).

In research, being honest implies doing research and communicating about results and their possible applications fully and without deception.

Being fair means treating others with respect and without bias, whether in citing a colleague's ideas in a paper or mentoring a student in the proper conduct of research. In research — as in life — scientists and scholars should treat others as they hope and expect to be treated in return.

Objectivity implies that researchers try to look beyond their own preconceptions and biases to the observation and registration of facts and to the empirical evidence that justifies conclusions. Researchers cannot totally eliminate the influence of their own perspectives from their work, but they can strive to be as objective as possible.

Research communities over many years have developed methods to enhance the reliability of the results they obtain, and researchers have an obligation to adhere to these methods or demonstrate that their alternative approach produces equally trustworthy results.

An allegiance to empirical evidence requires that researchers maintain a degree of skepticism toward research results and conclusions so that results and explanations are continually reexamined and improved.

Researchers are accountable to other researchers, to the broader society, and to nature. If challenged, they cannot appeal to authority but must demonstrate that their results or statements can be justified.

Finally, researchers need to be open with others for research to progress. All researchers deserve to work independently as they balance the competing considerations of whether their hypotheses are supported or not. But they ultimately need to convey to others their conclusions and the evidence and reasoning on which their conclusions are based so that those conclusions can be examined and extended. For the empirical and experimental sciences, this requires careful storage of data and making the data and other information underlying reported results publicly available.

The primacy of these seven values explains why trust is a fundamental characteristic of the research enterprise. Researchers expect that their colleagues will act in accord with these values. While there are examples of situations in which applying research values is not straightforward — such as in psychological research that may involve deception of research subjects during an experiment — these cases are highly unusual, and deviations need to be reported in full. When a researcher fails to adhere to one of the values of research, that person's trustworthiness is diminished among other researchers. In addition, the public's trust in research can be damaged, with harmful effects on the entire research community.

(Continues...)

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Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691170754
• ISBN 13: 9780691170756
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192