Research Intergrity: Publication Ethics
Free course, 8 hours of learning
This online training course provides researchers with practical steps for writing and publishing their manuscripts with integrity. Registration is needed at Nature Masterclasses.
Good Chemistry: Methodological, Ethical, and Social Dimensions
Book (2021) by Jan Mehlich
Practicing chemists face a number of ethical considerations, from issues of attribution of authorship through the potential environmental impact of a new process to the decision to work on chemicals that could be weaponized. This textbook provides an accessible resource to help chemists recognize the ethical and social dimensions of their own work and act appropriately.
Ethics of Chemistry: From Poison Gas to Climate Engineering
Book (2021) edited by Joachim Schummer and Tom Børsen
This textbook establishes the scope of ethics of chemistry and provides a case-based approach to teaching, thereby also narrating a cultural history of chemistry. An international team of experts narrate the historical cases and analyze their ethical dimensions. All cases are suitable for undergraduate teaching, either in classes of ethics, history of chemistry, or in chemistry classes proper.
Ethics in Chemistry
Magazine article (2018) by Nina Notman
Should chemists be giving more consideration to the ethics of their research? A discussion of some of the many ethical considerations a chemist might encounter during his/her professional career.
The Ethical Chemist: Professionalism and Ethics in Science
Book (2018, 2nd edition) by Jeffrey Kovac
This book is an introduction to professional ethics in chemistry. It has a large collection of specific ethical problems or cases, each followed by a commentary where the issues raised by that case are discussed.
Elements of Ethics for Physical Scientists
Book (2017) by Sandra C. Greer
A guide to the everyday decisions about right and wrong faced by physical scientists and research engineers.
Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research within the Chemical Community
Special open access journal issue (2015, vol 22, iss 6) of Accountability in Research
This special issue contains articles devoted to ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) in chemistry. It was designed to serve as a resource in chemistry departments to meet the federally-mandated education in RCR.
The five articles in this issue are:
- “Ethics in Science: The Unique Consequences of Chemistry” by Jeffrey D. Kovac (Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee)
- “Tension in Chemistry and Its Contents” by Roald Hoffmann (Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University)
- “Authorship Issues and Conflict in the U.S. Academic Chemical Community,” by Jeffrey I. Seeman (Department of Chemistry, University of Richmond) and Mark C. House (Giant Steps Research, Gainesville, FL)
- “Social Media, Peer Review, and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) in Chemistry: Trends, Pitfalls, and Promises,” by Ashutosh S. Jogalekar (Cambridge, MA)
- “Ethics and the Responsible Conduct of Research in the Chemical Community: The Unique Role and Challenges of the News Media” by William G. Schulz (Chemical & Engineering News, American Chemical Society).
Voicing our Values
Lockheed Martin is a leading global security and aerospace company. They have a focus on ethics in their company that is reflected in their website.
PBS Series-- Playing by the Rules: Ethics at Work
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has a series of programs on ethics in the workplace. Here is a link to their first episode.
Websites:
NSF Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research
https://www.nsf.gov/od/recr.jsp
The responsible and ethical conduct of research involves not only a responsibility to generate and disseminate knowledge with rigor and integrity, but also a responsibility to conduct peer review with highest ethical standards; diligently protect proprietary information and intellectual property from inappropriate disclosure; and treat students and colleagues fairly and with respect.
The Office of Research Integrity
The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) oversees and directs U.S. Public Health Service research integrity activities on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This includes oversight of research misconduct inquiries and investigations, as well as of institutional compliance.
The Lab: Avoiding Research Misconduct
The fictional media tutorials developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Office of Research Integrity to promote awareness of the responsible conduct of research.
NIGMS Guidance on Best Practices for Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research
https://www.nigms.nih.gov/training/pages/responsibleconduct.aspx
This guidance reflects a community consensus about what constitutes adequate training in the responsible conduct of research. There is no single set of standards that all programs must adopt. Rather, this guidance describes what many institutions are doing and may be viewed as a collection of best practices.
The Online Ethics Center
The Online Ethics Center provides resources for understanding ethically significant issues that arise in scientific and engineering practice and serves those who promote learning of responsible research. It is maintained by the Center for Engineering Ethics and Society (CEES) at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Publishing Ethics Resources
https://www.sspnet.org/resources/publishing-ethics-resources/
A collection of resources from a host of scholarly publishing organizations including the American Chemical Society.