Title | Collaborative Science |
Long Title | Collaborative Science and Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership |
Contributor/Contact | Michele A. Carter, PhD (mcarter@utmb.edu) |
Contributor Details |
Michele A. Carter, PhD Director, Ethics Support Key Resource, Institute for Translational Sciences |
CTSA | UTMB Galveston |
Case Study Provided | A Donald Dunn, undergraduate student in a biology course is a chronic klutz. Everything he touches either breaks or does something odd. This is especially true in science laboratory courses. So Dunn and his lab partner have arrived at a mutually satisfying solution: Dunn prepares the pre-lab protocol to guide their work and then records all the data generated in lab. His partner does all the hands-on experimental manipulations. They then take the data and independently use them to prepare laboratory reports. |
Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership Topics |
Data acquisition issues, Data reporting, Special issues related to scientific roles |
Mentor and Trainee Responsibilities Topics | No mentor and trainee responsibilities topics |
Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship Topics | No publication practices and responsible authorship topics |
Peer Review Topics | No peer review topics |
Collaborative Science Topics |
The nature and advantages of successful collaborations, Types of collaboration, Working well with others, Dealing with challenges in collaborative relationships |
Research Misconduct Topics | No research misconduct topics |
Conflicts of Interest, Law and Policy Topics | No conflicts of interest_law_and policy topics |
Human Subjects | No human subjects |
Citation | SOURCE: Research Ethics: Cases and Materials, Indiana University Press, Edited by Robin Levin Penslar, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1995, pp. 52, 53. |
URL | |
RCR Keyword | Collaboration, Lab Partners |
Other RCR Keywords | Lab Reports, Laboratory, Data , Permission from Instructor, Team |
Case Difficulty | Quick |
Type of Case | |
Source for Topic Areas | Du Bois, J., & Dueker, J. (2009). Teaching and Assessing the Responsible Conduct of Research: A Delphi Consensus Panel Report. Journal of Research Administration, 40(1), 49-70. |
References | |
Other |
Questions for Discussion 1. Do you conclude that Dunn's actions are ethical? Why or why not? So long as the two students agree to do their work in this fashion and they have permission from their instructor, this manner of doing a lab project is acceptable. Their write-ups of the lab report must be separate and independent, however. Often, legitimate research is done in much this fashion by a team of investigators, each with a special role in the project; so long as all agree on the arrangement and all have a fair and equal say in the write-up of the data, this is acceptable. |