RAPID: Using a professional code of ethics to promote ethical and responsible research
- Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Total publications:0 publications
Grant number: 2032752
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Key facts
Disease
COVID-19Start & end year
20202021Known Financial Commitments (USD)
$71,522Funder
National Science Foundation (NSF)Principal Investigator
Trisha PhillipsResearch Location
United States of AmericaLead Research Institution
West Virginia University Research CorporationResearch Priority Alignment
N/A
Research Category
Research to inform ethical issues
Research Subcategory
Research to inform ethical issues in Research
Special Interest Tags
N/A
Study Type
Non-Clinical
Clinical Trial Details
N/A
Broad Policy Alignment
Pending
Age Group
Unspecified
Vulnerable Population
Unspecified
Occupations of Interest
Unspecified
Abstract
A scientific society?s code of ethics is an important symbol of the discipline?s standards, values, and commitments. This project aims to understand whether and in what way a scientific society?s code of ethics influences its disciplinary culture and individual behaviors related to ethical and responsible research. On April 16, 2020, the American Political Science Association announced significant changes to the Association?s code of ethics, a document formally titled A Guide to Professional Ethics in Political Science. This change provides an excellent opportunity to conduct a ?natural experiment? to study the relationship between a professional association?s code of ethics and research integrity. This project takes seven baseline measurements relating to ethics and research integrity among APSA members, including their perceptions, publication practices, and graduate student education in research ethics, so that follow up measurements can detect whether these indicators of research integrity changed after the association changed its code of ethics. Findings will be broadly disseminated to better enable scholars and academic leaders to promote the responsible and ethical conduct of research.
By collecting baseline data before changes are made to the ethics code of a scientific society, this project responds to three research questions: (1) How does a professional code of ethics influence the disciplinary climate of research integrity? (2) How does a professional code of ethics influence publication and dissemination practices related to research integrity? (3) How does a professional code of ethics influence instruction in the responsible and ethical conduct of research? Scholars have established that honor codes are effective influencing factors for academic integrity in undergraduate student populations, but little is known about whether and in what way codes of ethics can influence research integrity in academic and professional populations. Collecting baseline data related to: (1) member perceptions of disciplinary climate of research integrity; (2) author?s awareness of ethical norms and expectations; (3) submission requirements for journals; (4) author?s disclosure of ethical issues; (5) attention to ethical issues in publication and presentation forums; (6) RECR educational programming; and (7) RECR resources allows the effects of this change to be identified and measured. Understanding the effects of changing codes of ethics yields broader insights into the influencing power of ethical codes, and the causal and influencing factors for desirable and undesirable research practices. This knowledge will help enable academic and professional leaders cultivate cultures of integrity and achieve greater impact when revising their code of ethics in the future.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
By collecting baseline data before changes are made to the ethics code of a scientific society, this project responds to three research questions: (1) How does a professional code of ethics influence the disciplinary climate of research integrity? (2) How does a professional code of ethics influence publication and dissemination practices related to research integrity? (3) How does a professional code of ethics influence instruction in the responsible and ethical conduct of research? Scholars have established that honor codes are effective influencing factors for academic integrity in undergraduate student populations, but little is known about whether and in what way codes of ethics can influence research integrity in academic and professional populations. Collecting baseline data related to: (1) member perceptions of disciplinary climate of research integrity; (2) author?s awareness of ethical norms and expectations; (3) submission requirements for journals; (4) author?s disclosure of ethical issues; (5) attention to ethical issues in publication and presentation forums; (6) RECR educational programming; and (7) RECR resources allows the effects of this change to be identified and measured. Understanding the effects of changing codes of ethics yields broader insights into the influencing power of ethical codes, and the causal and influencing factors for desirable and undesirable research practices. This knowledge will help enable academic and professional leaders cultivate cultures of integrity and achieve greater impact when revising their code of ethics in the future.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.