Beth A. Fischer

The Essential Nature of Sharing in Science

Advances in science are the combined result of the efforts of a great many scientists, and in many cases, their willingness to share the products of their research. These products include data sets, both small and large, and unique research resources not commercially available, such as cell lines and software programs. The sharing of these resources enhances both the scope and the depth of research, while making more efficient use of time and money. However, sharing is not without costs, many of which are borne by the individual who develops the research resource. Sharing, for example, reduces the uniqueness of the resources available to a scientist, potentially influencing the originator’s perceived productivity and ultimately his or her competitiveness for jobs, promotions, and grants. Nevertheless, for most researchers—particularly those using public funds—sharing is no longer optional but must be considered an obligation to science, the funding agency, and ultimately society at large. Most funding agencies, journals, and professional societies now require a researcher who has published work involving a unique resource to make that resource available to other investigators. Changes could be implemented to mitigate some of the costs. The creator of the resource could explore the possibility of collaborating with those who request it. In addition, institutions that employ and fund researchers could change their policies and practices to make sharing a more attractive and viable option. For example, when evaluating an individual’s productivity, institutions could provide credit for the impact a researcher has had on their field through the provision of their unique resources to other investigators, regardless of whether that impact is reflected in the researcher’s list of publications. In addition, increased funding for the development and maintenance of user-friendly public repositories for data and research resources would also help to reduce barriers to sharing by minimizing the time, effort, and funding needed by individual investigators to comply with requests for their unique resource. Indeed, sharing is an imperative, but it is also essential to find ways to protect for both the original owner of the resource and those wishing to share it.

Educational approaches for discouraging plagiarism

Suggested approaches to reduce the occurrence of plagiarism in academia, particularly among trainees. These include (1) educating individuals as to the definition of plagiarism and its consequences through written guidelines, active discussions, and practice in identifying proper and improper citation practices; (2) distributing checklists that break the writing task into more manageable steps, (3) requiring the submission of an outline and then a first draft prior to the deadline for a paper; (4) making assignments relevant to individual interests; and (5) providing trainees with access to software programs that detect plagiarism.

Teaching ethics: resources for researchers

In 1989, the US National Institutes of Health mandated that all students supported on federal training grants receive instruction in research ethics1. When that happened, institutions around the United States found themselves thinking – many for the first time – about how to provide such training. Now, the US Commission on Research Integrity is asking why ethics education is limited to students supported in this manner and has recommended that training in research ethics should be required for anyone engaged in federally funded research2.

Teaching Responsible Conduct Responsibly

The advancement of science requires trust – trust in the literature, in our collaborators, in the data we are handed, and most of all in ourselves. Policies issued by U.S. federal funding agencies (e.g., the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation) have been valuable in prompting institutions to initiate formal mechanisms for providing instruction in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). However, the guidelines vary greatly in scope, detail, and the types of individuals to which they apply. Unfortunately, at many institutions, the provision of RCR instruction has become a bureaucratic exercise aimed at fulfilling a regulatory requirement, instead of an activity optimized for promoting a climate of integrity. We argue that for RCR instruction to be effective it should (1) be provided to everyone involved in the research enterprise, be they students, trainees, faculty, or staff, (2) be infused throughout one’s time at an institution. For graduate students, that would include from orientation to thesis completion, including integration into all “core classes” within their discipline, as well as into discussions at research group meetings. (3) We also advocate that the bulk of the instruction should be provided primarily by active researchers who know the issues and have relevance to, and credibly with, those being taught, and (4) that the instruction actively engages the learners. Not only will we be providing RCR instruction in a much more optimized manner, such an approach also emphasizes through our actions, not just in words, that behaving responsibly is an essential skill for researchers.

Perspectives on research integrity

A collection of essays focusing on the importance of ethics consideration within the scientific community. Research misconduct and other ethical violations in science continue to be matters of concern to the international research community. Perspectives on Research Integrity addresses the need to provide ethics training early and often- in classroom settings and throughout a researchers career. Written by ethics and education experts, Perspectives on Research Integrity presents an enlivened discussion on the globally important topics of responsible conduct of research and ethics education. It synthesizes the current state of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) and considers future directives and requirements. A resource for how to teach RCR, Perspectives on Research Integrity was developed specifically for educators, researchers, and RCR offices to train responsible researchers. It is also useful as ancillary readings for students in any course involving research ethics.

Introductory Comments for the Scientific Ethics Theme

In this letter, the three Guest Editors for JMBEs first-ever themed section introduce the topic of scientific ethics and decribe the organization of essays within the special section.