Research ethics

"Ordinarily, responsible conduct of research (RCR) 'training' consists of lectures accompanied by generic exercises on 'core' topics. Research Ethics takes a novel, philosophical approach to the RCR and the teaching of moral decision-making. Part I introduces egoism and explains that it is in the individuals own interest to avoid misconduct, fabrication of data, plagiarism and bias. Part II takes up contractualism and covers issues of authorship, peer review and responsible use of statistics. Part III introduces moral rights as the basis of informed consent, the use of humans in research, mentoring, intellectual property and conflicts of interests. Part IV uses two-level utilitarianism to explore the possibilities and limits of the experimental use of animals, duties to the environment and future generations, and the social responsibilities of researchers. This book replaces mind-numbing rote exercises with an adventure in moral imagination and is an essential guide for graduate students in all disciplines"--