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Undergrads ponder research ethics conundrums at workshop
10:53 a.m., July 20, 2006--More than 200 undergraduate students are spending their summer on UD's Newark campus conducting research under the mentorship of faculty advisers. Some have made individual arrangements to pursue an area of personal interest. Others are taking part in organized internship programs, such as the Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs, or REUs, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. In many cases, the summer research experience is the undergraduate's first encounter with the research mission of the University and all it entails, from the interpersonal relations of the research lab to the politics of research funding. To ensure that these students are prepared for the ethical and moral quandaries they may face in the research environment, the University hosted an Undergraduate Research Ethics Workshop on July 12. The workshop, which is expected to become an annual event, was the brainchild of Fred Adams, chairperson of the Department of Philosophy, and David Weir, director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, who together co-direct the Delaware Interdisciplinary Ethics Program. Approximately 150 students representing more than 20 majors convened in the Perkins Student Center for lunch, lectures and small-group discussions. For most of the students, attendance was mandatory, but as an added incentive, two lucky participants selected at random received iPods at the conclusion of the workshop. David Silver, associate professor, and Mark Greene, assistant professor, both of UD's Department of Philosophy, led the workshop. In their introductory remarks, the professors told the students that most of the dilemmas they will face won't be hard to solve with a few simple guidelines:
However, as Greene illustrated through case studies, it is often “spectacularly easy” to make unethical decisions, particularly in a culture where cheating has become widespread. “Our good intentions are often met with institutional resistance,” Greene told the students. “Social pressures are very hard to resist. We don't work in isolation. Social relationships affect our behavior and give it a context which can make it very hard to do the right thing.”
In their discussions, the students weighed various options for responding and often encountered a complex web of interests and relationships. For example, the student-adviser relationship can complicate what might otherwise be an easy decision because of the power the adviser often holds over the student's education and future career. Laura Johnson, a senior in plant and soil sciences whose work this summer with Janine Sherrier, associate professor, is funded by the Delaware EPSCoR (Exploring Complex Environmental Systems and Ecosystem Health) program, found the small-group discussions to be stimulating. “It really opened my eyes to potential situations that might never have crossed my mind, probably until they happened to me,” she said. “I think we learned a lot in the small groups. You could talk more in depth and get a variety of opinions.” Martha Carothers, associate director of undergraduate studies and faculty director of the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, was a leading organizer of the workshop. She noted that the workshop also was a positive experience for the graduate student facilitators, who, like the undergrads, represented a wide range of disciplines. “We were very pleased to have the graduate students involved,” Carothers said. “We issued an open invitation for facilitators through the Center for Teaching Effectiveness and had an immediate and positive response. Many of the facilitators suggested that we initiate a similar program for graduate student researchers in the future.” The thought-provoking nature of the workshop was evident in the closing session, when the participants related the conclusions they had reached in their small group discussions. The professors then fielded questions that could have filled yet another afternoon with debate over such issues as deception of human subjects, the use of animals in research, the potential misuse of research results for harmful purposes and whether it's ever valid to use results obtained unethically. Silver received nods of recognition from the students when he compared ethical behavior to being on a lifelong diet for good health. “Once you give in to that piece of cake,” he said, “it makes it easier to eat the ice cream the next time. Each choice, right or wrong, makes the next choice in that direction easier. You can't give in now and say, 'Next semester I'll do the right thing.' You can't save ethical choices for later.” Article by Beth Chajes
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