International Ethics in Chemistry: Developing Common Values Across Cultures
ACS Symposium Series book (2021) edited by Susan M. Scheible and Kelly M. Elkins
This work explores ethical issues across chemistry, focusing on chemical organizations and researchers and how they establish policies and educational strategies for professional ethics. Chapters focus on intellectual property, codes of conduct, relationships with employers and government, and safety in the laboratory and workplace.
Ethics and Chemistry
Blog post (September 18, 2020) by Kelly Elkins, Division of Professional Relations
Ethics education is important and paramount in becoming a professional. Ethics is not the same as moral reasoning. Good people can do bad things. Newspaper articles report on cases in which scientists “mess up” or make the wrong choice in regards to ethical research, publishing and lab safety. Ethics is as important as chemical laboratory skills and both must be taught. Basic research improves lives through chemistry; the quality of the science and published results is directly dependent upon the adherence to best practices in scientific ethics.
ACS Inclusivity Style Guide
These guidelines are intended to help users communicate in ways that recognize and respect diversity in all its forms. This is a freely available section of the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication (2020). Access the guide at this link.
The Chemist's Code of Conduct
The Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct was approved by the ACS Council on March 16, 1994, and replaces The Chemist’s Creed, which was first published in 1965. The Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct was most recently updated on August 28, 2019.
The American Chemical Society expects its members to adhere to the highest ethical and safety standards, as detailed in this link.
Introduction to the Ethics of Scientific Conflict of Interest
Committee monograph (2020) by Patrick Knerr and Ronald P. D’Amelia
Ethics consists of the fundamental issues of practical decision making, such as the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong and how to prioritize competing values. Scientific progress necessitates the ethical conduct of research. A basic working definition of “conflict of interest” is a situation in which a secondary interest, such as financial or other personal considerations, has the potential to unduly influence the primary interest of objectivity in research conduct.
The Importance of Ethical Conduct in Scientific Research
Case Studies for Chemistry Ethics Education
The case studies presented in this link are designed to be used as part of ethics education in chemistry.
Case Studies and Methods for Teaching Professional Ethics for Forensic Science Students
Article (2020, vol 2, no 1) by Kelly Elkins and Ibiwunmi Fambegbe in Journal of Forensic Science Education
Ethics is often confused with morals and values. This paper compares and contrasts ethics and morals and discusses approaches to teaching ethics with an emphasis on the case study method. A review of ethics resources for instructors and classroom teaching methods are discussed. Several case studies covering a wide range of ethical issues encountered in forensic science are included.
Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research
A set of ethical guidelines for persons engaged in the publication of chemical research, specifically, for editors, authors, and manuscript reviewers. These guidelines were developed by the editors of the ACS journals and are reviewed regularly to ensure their clarity.
For a quick reference guide and videos:
- Top 10 Tips for Ethical Authorship [1 page PDF]
- ACS Author Lab: Module 7: Adhere to Ethical Guidelines
- ACS Reviewer Lab: Module 2: Ethics in Peer Review
- Publishing Your Research 101 video series: Episode 5, part 1: Ethical considerations for authors; part 2: Ethical considerations for reviewers
Credit Where Credit is Due: Respecting Authorship and Intellectual Property
ACS Symposium Series book (2018) edited by Patricia Ann Mabrouk and Judith N. Currano
This volume is based on the symposium “The Write Thing to Do: Ethical Considerations in Authorship & the Assignment of Credit” held at the 253rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Responsible Conduct in Chemistry Research and Practice: Global Perspectives
ACS Symposium Series book (2018) by Ellen Tratras Contis, Dorothy J. Phillips, Allison A. Campbell, Bradley D. Miller, and Lori Brown
This book was both inspired and informed by a symposium The Interface of Chemical and Biological Sciences International Disarmament Efforts held in 2015 at the ACS national meeting in Denver, CO. The intended readership is all chemists, chemistry educators and chemical engineers, particularly those with an interest in the responsible global practice of chemistry, science and human rights, scientific mobility, and international relations.