"Research misconduct is a major threat to science. As much as some scientists wish to point fingers at politicians and the public as the principle bad players responsible for the lack of appreciation and funding that science deserves, I think the real enemy is within our own ranks", writes professor of plant sciences and holds the Ivan Racheff Chair of Excellence in plant molecular genetics at the University of Tennessee, C. Neal Stewart, Jr., Ph.D., in his very practical and indispensable guide book Research Ethics for Scientists : A Companion for Students. The author describes the primary issues of scientific research ethics, and provides a series of best practices to ensure that research is conducted and reported in an open an honest manner by students and practicing scientists alike.
C. Neal Stewart, Jr., Ph.D. recognizes that ethical issues exist within the scientific community, and that these unfortunate events must be curtailed and prevented for the benefit of both science and the larger society. For the author, the clear approach to solving this growing problem, is through supporting best ethical practices by all scientists on the one hand; and exposing unethical practices and scientists on the other. To ensure that ethics are understood by all students in the sciences, as well as by the entire scientific community, C. Neal Stewart, Jr., Ph.D. utilizes a systematic approach based on a series of functional themes. The author takes a positive stance of offering strong support for ethical practices in science, and on the practice of ethical scientific research and reporting.
C. Neal Stewart, Jr., Ph.D. (photo left) understands that it's up to the individual scientist to act ethically at all times. Indeed, he points out that the responsibility for ending the problem of ethical breaches rests entirely with scientists themselves. The author demonstrates that such ethical violations as plagiarism, falsifying research lab results and data, conflicts of interest, and claiming the work of others as one's own result in ruined careers. To counter these problems, Neal Stewart offers a process, broken into themes based on functions, to ensure that science students receive a proper grounding in ethics from the very beginning of their educational experience.
For me, the power of the book is how Neal Stewart takes a positive and pro-active approach to teaching ethical scientific behavior to students. This process of instilling strong ethical values and best practices, from the very start of the academic career, offers a preemptive means of reducing and even removing ethical violations from the field of science. The author doesn't address the ethical questions and issued raised by science, but instead addresses the ethical issues and dilemmas that arise from being a scientist. The focus of the book is on the individual learning the appropriate ethical practices.
Neal Stewart enhances his functional theme based approach with questions in each chapter that force the students to evaluate their own ethical positions. The book also contains instructive case studies that highlight the ethical issues faced by scientists. There are even a series of chapter by chapter questions, placed at the end of the book, to review and study more deeply the ethical issues faced by scientists.
I highly recommend the very hands on and essential book Research Ethics for Scientists : A Companion for Students by C. Neal Stewart, Jr., Ph.D., to any students seeking a strong foundation in the ethics of being a scientist, to any faculty and mentors teaching ethics to students and other scientists, and to any practicing scientists searching for a useful handbook for developing a set of best practices for themselves, their labs, or their entire organizations.
