Standards and Expectations for Ethical Conduct

Standards for the responsible conduct of research, especially federally funded, are established and enforced by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). Two of its stated responsibilities include (1) implementing activities and programs to teach the responsible conduct of research, promote research integrity, prevent research misconduct, and improve the handling of allegations of research misconduct and (2) developing policies, procedures and regulations related to the detection, investigation, and prevention of research misconduct and the responsible conduct of research. The ORI's core instructional areas of the responsible conduct of research include data acquisition, management, sharing, and ownership, conflict of interest and commitment, human subjects, animal welfare, research misconduct, publication practices and responsible authorship, mentor/trainee responsibilities, peer review, and collaborative science.

Educational programs, codes of ethics, and oversight by Institutional Review Boards mandate that professionals demonstrate ethical conduct at all times. They also expect each professional to be a standard bearer to help ensure that colleagues and students will do so as well.

When misconduct is identified, the individual or individuals must be confronted. While this initial contact may be one-on-one, the key is to comply with all institutional procedures. Because of concerns of a whistleblower regarding possible retaliation or being blackballed, some people feel that they should work through a department chair or campus ombudsman to bring to the attention of proper individuals concerns about research misconduct.