On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research

by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Institute of Medicine

The scientific research enterprise is built on a foundation of trust. Scientists trust that the results reported by others are valid. Society trusts that the results of research reflect an honest attempt by scientists to describe the world accurately and without bias. But this trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct.



On Being a Scientist was designed to supplement the informal lessons in ethics provided by research supervisors and mentors. The book describes the ethical foundations of scientific practices and some of the personal and professional issues that researchers encounter in their work. It applies to all forms of research--whether in academic, industrial, or governmental settings-and to all scientific disciplines.

This third edition of On Being a Scientist reflects developments since the publication of the original edition in 1989 and a second edition in 1995. A continuing feature of this edition is the inclusion of a number of hypothetical scenarios offering guidance in thinking about and discussing these scenarios.

On Being a Scientist is aimed primarily at graduate students and beginning researchers, but its lessons apply to all scientists at all stages of their scientific careers.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Research, Reference

82 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2008

Reviews

[Chloe Frizzle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's short 👍

[Camille McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great guide for beginning researchers in any scientific field. I learned a lot that would have been helpful for me back when I was doing lab work, and I wish I had read the book when I first received it and not seven or eight years later. It took me back to a lot of situations I experienced and was a great way to get your feet wet in the world of researching, publishing, and ethics. It is also very short, which I appreciated. I definitely wish we'd talked more about ethics when I was in a scientific field, because I think I would have benefited from it, especially discussing funding and the corporate influence. It is partially because of these issues that I am not interested in pursuing science at the moment.
Definitely recommended for scientific researchers and engineering students.

[Ale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta guía cumple con su objetivo esencial: introducir de manera accesible y razonada los fundamentos éticos de la práctica científica. Con una estructura clara y una lógica interna bien armada, el texto ofrece argumentos sólidos y sensatos, lo que lo convierte en un buen punto de partida para quien se inicia en la reflexión ética dentro del ámbito académico y científico.

Sin embargo, su tono contenido y su tendencia a evitar posturas firmes frente a dilemas complejos le restan fuerza. Algunos casos, especialmente los más peliagudos, se presentan de forma interesante pero sin una resolución clara ni una toma de postura que oriente al lector. Ejemplos como los relacionados con las FFP (falsificación, fabricación, plagio) abren debates pertinentes, pero dejan sin respuesta los aspectos más prácticos y conflictivos, da la sensación de que los propios comités que han escrito el libro son incapaces de dar respuesta a distintos dilemas; lo que es normal en materia ética pero no en materia científica.

El apéndice, que podría haber profundizado en estas zonas grises, resulta escueto y poco útil justo en los puntos más delicados. Además, se dejan distintos materiales complementarios para que ya el lector invierta su tiempo en afinar, aunque no parece que en estos materiales se vaya a encontrar respuesta a estas preguntas.

En resumen, se trata de una guía correcta y funcional, que señala caminos sin recorrerlos del todo. Ideal como introducción, pero insuficiente para quienes buscan un debate más profundo o respuestas claras en la práctica ética científica.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, this is fine for what it's trying to do, and is thankfully fairly short, but it suffers from trying to cover all bases in ethics for all fields of fundamental research, and so some of it is irrelevant e.g. human/animal testing is not such an issue in fundamental physics research. It's also a little basic at times, e.g. pages on not photoshopping your data-points (really? no shit) and I would have enjoyed more in depth discussion on some of the more nuanced topics. For example, there was a brief statement about how all authors of a paper must be willing and able to defend its content if they claim credit for it. This is fair, but I would have liked more of an exploration about how this works with very large collaborations and where the line is between trusting colleagues and peer review.

The best part of the book was definitely the case-studies which look at real scenarios of people violating ethics in practice. These were fun to read in the same way that reading scathing criticisms of media is titillating, or the Who wore it Worst portions of fashion magazines. But, honestly, entertainment-factor aside these were great because many of them were far more nuanced than I was expecting. I'm using this textbook for an independent study credit but I imagine discussing it in a classroom scenario would be very rewarding due to the subtleties in most of the case studies.

So yes, this has it's flaws but it could have been so much more of a painful experience than it ultimately was.

[Kritika Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be made a compulsory read for all the beginners in research. This boom provides all the basic but necessary information, which beginners fail to know because of several limitations in communication. Scientific misconduct and injustice are so common in developing as well as developed countries. This book can serve to answer several questions when a researcher is facing an obstacle in their continuity of work because of undesirable work norms and ethics being practiced in their research groups.
Highly recommended!

[Jjewell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was *slightly* more thought-provoking than I thought it might be. Scientific ethics are just common sense, right? Don't make up your data, don't plagiarize, and always tell the full story. While those principles are indeed the core of this book, examples of how they might be applied, as well as a discussion of how to avoid conflicts of interest (both monetary and interpersonal), went beyond the obvious.

[Scott Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ethics in scientific research is an issue appearing periodically in the news… and often not in a good way. Perhaps some ethical lapse has led to a field’s struggles with millions of dollars worth of effort lost. Or perhaps someone falsified results and misled the public. Or governments might exploit research that was supposed to benefit humanity and redirected it to harming people.

All these fall under the headline of “Responsible Conduct in Research,” more colloquially known as RCR. The elite National Academies in the US provide short, well-reasoned guides to large, pressing interdisciplinary issues confronting science. This work, in its third edition, provides a brief summary of ethical issues involved with scientific research along with case studies to explore them in more detail.

Good science runs on maximizing knowledge and skills, but is accepted only with public trust. Enduring social values of respect, honesty, and lack of bias lead to longstanding contribution. Ethical shortcuts are usually caught but cause systemic inefficiencies. Lapses can result in hurt patients or end users, failed careers, and misspent effort by the field. This book identifies 13 areas where today’s scientists should spend time meditating upon in order to protect the good will of the public and of their colleagues.

This book is in its third edition, with the first two coming out in 1989 and 1995. In a field like ethics, the content does not evolve at a dramatic pace, but it does evolve with time. New events lead to new insights. This updated version continues to include a number of case studies with questions to engage with issues intellectually. All the issues are succinctly covered.

The appropriate audience for this book consists of graduate students, early researchers, and even established scientists. This work is too concise for an undergraduate textbook, where making the material “come to life” is more important. Addressed researchers are in the hard sciences, engineering, or medical fields; the social sciences and humanities are not a focal audience. The human aspects and effects of studying nature certainly need to be heeded. Ethical books, excellently and concisely presented by the National Academies, help us make better, more efficient decisions to move science and society forward.

[Uriel Yeap · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is pretty useful when you're beginning research, letting you understand the ethics in research at beginner's level with multiple case studies. As a PhD student, I'm utterly happy to understand the concept of ethics in perspectives of data manipulation, research misconduct, experimental designs, application of human and animal subjects, intellectual property, conflict of interest, as well as authorship and credit allocation. Although I'm reading this book for the sole purpose of improving my understanding in an online workshop, it really inculcates my own basics for the beginning of my research studies.

[Christian Shafer · Rating 2 out of 5]

While offering no surprising information for those currently invested in research, it is a tremendous guide for introductory researchers to understand the core principals involved in conducting honest research. Nevertheless, I suggest new students look for more recent publications that encompass the same topics.

2 stars; it was okay

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I had read this before starting my research career.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read it for class. Insightful but repetitive.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book I read for an Intro to research class.

[Mills College Library]

174.95 O5812 2009

[THN · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good handbook reference for PhD students.

[Courtney Saari · Rating 3 out of 5]

brief, but helpful!