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, ,
Kate Kirby and Frances A. Houle
sive and heart-felt answers to the open-ended survey ques- to learn how young physicists are being trained in
tions came from the junior members of APSthat is, ethics issues and professional codes of conduct
physicists within the first three years after getting the to learn of their knowledge and personal experiences of
PhD. Clearly, issues of ethics and professional conduct find ethics violations
strong resonance in that group of young physicists. Here to collect ideas about what kinds of ethics training
is a small sample of their many responses: would be effective
to learn what they regard as the most serious profes-
The only real answer to the ethics problem is sional ethics issues that APS should address.
for tenure review boards to stop rewarding the As we read the responses of the junior members, it be-
Science/Nature/PRL culture above all else. came clear that fabrication of data, which had been the
Our scientific community promotes the search
of the surface and superficiality [to the] detri-
ment of content and deepness.
Box 1. Statement on Treatment of
Many breaches of ethics arise from the pres- Subordinates
sure to publish . . .
(Adopted by the APS Council 30 April 2004)
The researcher . . . will be judged [by] the Subordinates should be treated with respect and with con-
number of articles, and the corresponding jour- cern for their well-being. Supervisors have the responsibil-
nal names, appearing on the CV. He or she will ity to facilitate the research, educational, and professional
not be judged [by] the work spent on each development of subordinates, to provide a safe, supportive
paper, how many backup checks were per- working environment and fair compensation, and to pro-
formed to confirm the results, and so on. High mote the timely advance of graduate students and young re-
number of papers, in highly ranked journals, searchers to the next stage of career development. In addi-
is what builds a career. . . . The recent sad tion, supervisors should ensure that subordinates know how
events [show] that it is for many people more to appeal decisions without fear of retribution.
important to publish spectacular results than Contributions of subordinates should be properly ac-
knowledged in publications, presentations, and perform-
to publish true results.
ance appraisals. In particular, subordinates who have made
The junior members concerns over careerism and other is- significant contributions to the concept, design, execution,
sues are echoed again and again in response to the survey or interpretation of a research study should be afforded the
question, What do you see as the most serious professional opportunity of authorship of resulting publications, consis-
ethics issues which could/should be addressed by APS? tent with APS Guidelines for Professional Conduct.
The entire junior membership of APS was surveyed Supervisors and/or other senior scientists should not be
via the Web. Almost half of them responded, many within listed on papers of subordinates unless they have also con-
hours of receiving the survey. That is an excellent response tributed significantly to the concept, design, execution or
interpretation of the research study.
rate, considering that no additional reminders were sent.
Mentoring of students, postdoctoral researchers, and
We saw this group as being of central importance to the employees with respect to intellectual development, profes-
work of the task force because it uniquely spans recent ex- sional and ethical standards, and career guidance, is a core
perience both in the educational system and in the real responsibility for supervisors. Periodic communication of
world of working professional physicists. Our goals in sur- constructive performance appraisals is essential.
veying this cohort were These guidelines apply equally for subordinates in perma-
to assess level of awareness and concern about ethics nent positions and for those in temporary or visiting positions.
issues among recent PhDs
2. Have you been taught data-handling practices 2. Have you been taught appropriate practices for
handling data?
a) in a laboratory course?
Acceptable practices for
measuring, reporting,
Acceptable practices and interpreting data
for measuring and
reporting data Creation of a
research record
Accurate records
in lab courses 0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60 80 100 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS
b) in a research experience setting Figure 3. Where did junior members of the American Physi-
(if youve participated in one)? cal Society learn acceptable professional practices? In the APS
ethics survey of junior members, question 2 was specified to
Literature include all settings in which data handling might be taught,
searches
including research groups as well as laboratory courses.
Acceptable ways
to interpret data
Acceptable ways
to analyze data physics students earn their doctorates without any formal
instruction in basic norms of data collection and recording.
Data retention Some students can pick up what they need to know by
watching their coworkers. But that cannot be taken for
Accurate records granted. Recent pedagogical research has shown that
some highly intelligent and capable students need direct
0 20 40 60 80 100
instruction.2 In our increasingly computer-based age, the
PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS
concept of a research record is not well-defined. As one jun-
ior APS member noted, Too much emphasis is placed on
Figure 2. Undergraduates surveyed by the APS task force on the physical laboratory notebook rather than the concept
ethics answered questions about where they were learning of recording your work. [When the computer is used ex-
acceptable professional practices. clusively, students] tend to disregard not just the reality
of a laboratory notebook but the concept of a timeline of
when and where the data came from.
Based on its findings, the task force made several rec-
ommendations for actions by APS and the physics com-
their departments had established such policies. Only 20%
munity:
of the responding chairs reported that the much-publicized
Update the ethics statements to include treatment of
data fabrication cases of 2002 have led to a new emphasis
subordinates
on ethics in their departments. Sponsor and promote development of ethics education
It appears that norms of professional conduct as- programs
sumed to be familiar and practiced by all are, in fact, not Work with other professional bodies to develop a set of
universally understood. Our operating definition of pro- recommended standards for research records in the elec-
fessional ethics is outlined in box 3. The surveys of un- tronic age
dergraduates, junior APS members, and department Work with sister societies to develop an internationally
chairs sought to examine how professional standards are accepted code of ethics
taught and learned. The survey responses paint a consis- Consider whether to appoint a standing committee on
tent picture. As illustrated in figures 24, all three groups ethics that would be responsible for ongoing projects.
report that scientific ethics education is largely informal; Many of these recommendations are actively being
much of it occurs in discussion among colleagues. Proper addressed. The APS council has already approved state-
data handling and record keeping are mostly, but not uni- ments on ethical treatment of subordinates and on the im-
versally, taught in laboratory classes. Not all research portance of proper referencing. The possible activities
groups make a serious effort to teach students how to of an ethics committee are under discussion. Martin
record data properly and keep a research record. Blume, editor-in-chief of Physical Review, has initiated an
It is safe to conclude that a significant fraction of international effort to formulate common standards for
Department seminars