Think about the scenario and write in response to that scenario.
Include:
A summary of the scenario,
How it connects to ethical practices guidance and/or research integrity expectations,
Your response if you were in a similar situation.
Materials and Scenario:
A Career in the Balance (Research Misconduct – Whistleblowing)
Peter was just months away from finishing his Ph.D. dissertation when he realized that something was seriously amiss with the work of a fellow graduate student, Jimmy.
Peter was convinced that Jimmy was not actually making the measurements he claimed to be making. They shared the same lab, but Jimmy rarely seemed to be there. Sometimes Peter saw research materials thrown away unopened. The results Jimmy was turning in to their common thesis adviser seemed too clean to be real. Peter knew that he would soon need to ask his thesis adviser for a letter of recommendation for faculty and postdoctoral positions. If he raised the issue with his adviser now, he was sure that it would affect the letter of recommendation. Jimmy was a favorite of his adviser, who had often helped Jimmy before when his project ran into problems.
Yet, Peter also knew that if he waited to raise the issue, the question would inevitably arise as to when he first suspected problems. Both Peter and his thesis adviser were using Jimmy’s results in their own research. If Jimmy’s data were inaccurate, they both needed to know as soon as possible.
Questions to Consider:
What kind of evidence should Peter have to be able to go to his adviser?
Should Peter first try to talk with Jimmy, with his adviser, or with someone else entirely?
What other resources can Peter turn to for information that could help him decide what to do?
Research Ethics and Integrity (Spector Chapter 2, p. 46)
http://www.apa.org/ethics
