Logan M. Steele

Are Ethics Training Programs Improving? A Meta-Analytic Review of Past and Present Ethics Instruction in the Sciences

Given the growing public concern and attention placed on cases of research misconduct, government agencies and research institutions have increased their efforts to develop and improve ethics education programs for scientists. The present study sought to assess the impact of these increased efforts by sampling empirical studies published since the year 2000. Studies published prior to 2000 examined in other meta-analytic work were also included to provide a baseline for assessing gains in ethics training effectiveness over time. In total, this quantitative review consisted of 66 empirical studies, 106 ethics courses, 150 effect sizes, and 10,069 training participants. Overall, the findings indicated that ethics instruction resulted in sizable benefits to participants and has improved considerably within the last decade. A number of specific findings also emerged regarding moderators of instructional effectiveness. Recommendations are discussed for improving the development, delivery, and evaluation of ethics instruction in the sciences.

Evaluating Ethics Education Programs: A Multilevel Approach

Although education in the responsible conduct of research is considered necessary, evidence bearing on the effectiveness of these programs in improving research ethics has indicated that, although some programs are successful, many fail. Accordingly, there is a need for systematic evaluation of ethics education programs. In the present effort, we examine procedures for evaluation of ethics education programs from a multilevel perspective: examining both within-program evaluation and cross-program evaluation. With regard to within-program evaluation, we note requisite designs and measures for conducting systematic program evaluation have been developed and multiple measures should be applied in program evaluation. With regard to cross-program evaluation, we argue that a meta-analytic framework should be employed where analyses are used to identify best practices in ethics education. The implications of this multilevel approach for improving responsible conduct of research educational programs are discussed.

How Do We Know What Works? A Review and Critique of Current Practices in Ethics Training Evaluation

ABSTRACT Training is a costly investment. As such, it is of great interest to know the extent to which that investment is yielding a positive return. Recent meta-analytic efforts have observed that ethics training programs are, indeed, having a positive effect, leading to the conclusion that the programs are working. However, they have also uncovered considerable variability in the effectiveness of ethics training programs, which leads to the purpose of the present study—to review current practices in ethics training evaluation. Through this review of 243 studies, consisting of 380 ethics trainings, we identified major themes in evaluation practices and training design. The tradeoffs associated with these evaluation procedures and designs are discussed, along with directions for future research.

Modeling the Instructional Effectiveness of Responsible Conduct of Research Education: A Meta-Analytic Path-Analysis

Predictive modeling in education draws on data from past courses to forecast the effectiveness of future courses. The present effort sought to identify such a model of instructional effectiveness in scientific ethics. Drawing on data from 235 courses in the responsible conduct of research (RCR), structural equation modeling techniques were used to test a predictive model of RCR course effectiveness. Fit statistics indicated the model fit the data well, with the instructional characteristics included in the model explaining approximately 85% of the variance in RCR instructional effectiveness. Implications for using the model to develop and improve future RCR courses are discussed.

Improving Ethical Knowledge and Sensemaking from Cases through Elaborative Interrogation and Outcome Valence

The case-based approach to learning is popular among many applied fields. However, results of case-based education vary widely on case content and case presentation. This study examined two aspects of case-based education—outcome valence and case elaboration methods—in a two-day case-based Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) ethics education program. Results suggest that outcome information is an integral part of a quality case. Furthermore, valence consistent outcomes may have certain advantages over mixed valence outcome information. Finally, students enjoy and excel working with case material, and the use of elaborative interrogation techniques can significantly improve internally-focused ethical sensemaking strategies associated with personal biases, constraints, and emotions.

A Comparison of the Effects of Ethics Training on International and US Students

Abstract As scientific and engineering efforts become increasingly global in nature, the need to understand differences in perceptions of research ethics issues across countries and cultures is imperative. However, investigations into the connection between nationality and ethical decision-making in the sciences have largely generated mixed results. In Study 1 of this paper, a measure of biases and compensatory strategies that could influence ethical decisions was administered. Results from this study indicated that graduate students from the United States and international graduate students studying in the US are prone to different biases. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for developing ethics education interventions to target these decision-making biases. In Study 2, we employed an ethics training intervention based on ethical sensemaking and used a well-established measure of ethical decision-making that more fully captures the content of ethical judgment. Similar to Study 1, the results obtained in this study suggest differences do exist between graduate students from the US and international graduate students in ethical decision-making prior to taking the research ethics training. However, similar effects were observed for both groups following the completion of the ethics training intervention.

Biomedical ethics education may benefit from integrating compliance and analysis approaches.

Two approaches have been widely applied in ethics education in the biomedical sciences: field-specific compliance and professional decision processes. Both approaches offer unique benefits to trainees, but future courses that integrate these two approaches might prove particularly valuable.

To Whistleblow or Not to Whistleblow: Affective and Cognitive Differences in Reporting Peers and Advisors

Traditional whistleblowing theories have purported that whistleblowers engage in a rational process in determining whether or not to blow the whistle on misconduct. However, stressors inherent to whistleblowing often impede rational thinking and act as a barrier to effective whistleblowing. The negative impact of these stressors on whistleblowing may be made worse depending on who engages in the misconduct: a peer or advisor. In the present study, participants are presented with an ethical scenario where either a peer or advisor engages in misconduct, and positive and the negative consequences of whistleblowing are either directed to the wrongdoer, department, or university. Participant responses to case questions were evaluated for whistleblowing intentions, moral intensity, metacognitive reasoning strategies, and positive and negative, active and passive emotions. Findings indicate that participants were less likely to report the observed misconduct of an advisor compared to a peer. Furthermore, the findings also suggest that when an advisor is the source of misconduct, greater negative affect results. Post-hoc analyses were also conducted examining the differences between those who did and did not intend to blow the whistle under the circumstances of either having to report an advisor or peer. The implications of these findings for understanding the complexities involved in whistleblowing are discussed.

Re-examining the Relationship Between Need for Cognition and Creativity: Predicting Creative Problem Solving Across Multiple Domains

Prior studies have demonstrated inconsistent findings with regard to the relationship between need for cognition and creativity. In our study, measurement issues were explored as a potential source of these inconsistencies. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine the factor structure underlying the 18-item need for cognition scale in three independent samples drawn from three prior studies. In addition, the relationships between need for cognition and the quality, originality, and elegance of creative problem solutions across multiple domains of performance were analyzed. Across all 3 samples, the bifactor model fit the data better than the 2-factor and 1-factor need for cognition models. After controlling for method-specific variance, the trait factor of the bifactor model showed consistently positive relationships with all 3 facets of creative performance and showed stronger relationships with these facets than the composite score results reported in prior studies. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Interrelationships Among Self-Regulated Learning Processes: Toward a Dynamic Process-Based Model of Self-Regulated Learning:

Self-regulation and learning are fundamentally dynamic phenomena that occur at the within-person level and unfold over time. However, the majority of the extant empirical research on self-regulated learning has been conducted at the between-person level, which can obscure the true nature of interrelationships among self-regulatory mechanisms. In the present study, we seek to advance a more nuanced view of the role of self-regulation in modern training and development by presenting a novel theoretical perspective that integrates cognitive, motivational, and behavioral mechanisms central to the literature on active learning with the more dynamic theoretical principles and mechanisms underlying stage-based cognitive models of skill acquisition. Hypotheses derived from this model were tested in a laboratory study with 305 participants who practiced a dynamic computer game involving strong cognitive and perceptual-motor demands. Bivariate cross-lagged latent growth models generally supported the proposed model, revealing systematic trends over the course of practice consistent with a series of iterative, bidirectional, and self-correcting reciprocal interrelationships among self-efficacy, metacognition, exploratory behavior, and practice performance. Collectively, these findings suggest that strong positive interrelationships among self-regulated learning variables at the between-person level may, in some cases, actually belie the true nature of their functional effects. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.