This unit contains all of the discussion scenarios referenced in the group mentoring modules. Please see the individual modules for an organized view.
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An Outrage or "Cultural Difference"?
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical implications of author lists in publications and especially when researchers from different institutions with different authorship practices collaborate.
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Editor's Oversight of Journal Article Reviews and Reviewers
A scenario about how a journal editor should choose reviewers and the possible complications that could arise.
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An Anti-Oxidant Compound to Slow Progression of Alzheimer's Disease
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when study designs must include placebo controls and lengthy participation by Alzheimer's patients.
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An Aborted Ph.D. Program
An scenario designed to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in advisor-adevisee relationship; a student and advisor disagree about whether work completed for a Ph.D. should count towards an MA.
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Confidentiality and Data Access
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about a situation where sensitive data is shared between collaborators.
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Additional Scenarios for The Supervisor-Trainee Relationship
An online module designed to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in the supervisor-trainee relationship.
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Becoming an Advocate
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about ways of becoming an advocate.
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Questions on the Supervisor-Trainee Relationship
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a thesis supervisor demands significantly more work after the student thinks the draft is complete.
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A Lie or Just "a Way of Speaking?"
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the phrasing of key pieces of information.
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Suggested Approaches to Resolving Ethical Problems in Research with Mentally Ill Patients as Subjects
Suggested methods for resolving ethical issues or reducing risks that may arise in conducting research with the mentally ill as subjects.
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An Asthmatic Child
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion regarding ethical issues in conducting research with children: Parents approach you to ask if their child can be enrolled in a study.
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Balancing Scientific Usefulness with Privacy
A scenario about a researcher working with tissue samples trying to balance the need for in-depth demographic information with the individuals right to privacy.
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A Question of Mentoring Bias
A scenario designed to stimulate discussion about ethical aspects of the supervisor-trainee relationship and bias.
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Annotated Bibliography:Conducting Human Genetic Research
An annotated bibliography of resources on the ethics of human genetics research.
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The Ethics Of Research With Subjects Who Have Dementia (Bibliography)
An annotated bibliography of resources on the ethics of research with dementia patients.
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The Supervisor-Trainee Relationship - Annotated Bibliography
Annotated bibilography to an online module designed to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in the supervisor-trainee relationship.
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The Ethics Of Using Animals in Research - Annotated Bibliography
Annotated bibliography for an online module designed to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that scientists face when doing research with animals.
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The Ethics of Research on Vulnerable Populations - Annotated Bibliography
Annotated bibliogrpahy for the research ethics module covering the ethical issues that arise in doing research on vulnerable populations.
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Building on a Premature Claim: A Cautionary Tale
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when a researcher finds she cannot duplicate the research of others.
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The Disappearing Bottles
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when doing research with hazardous chemicals.
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Look, I've Changed
A scenario about research in which a strange side effect is noticed in mice which would not affect humans.
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Changing the Procedure
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about how a graduate student should handle a group that does not want to change their experiment procedure.
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Being the Chief
A scenario about a journal editor who realizes that a manuscript submitted for review is similar to that of one of dissertators.
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Unexpected Adverse Events
A scenario about research in which a strange side effect is noticed in mice which would not affect humans.
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Further Questions About A Claim of Prior Discovery by a Reviewer
A scenario about a researcher who, after reviewing a journal article, recommends rejecting it because it is not novel.
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A Cognitive Enhancing Drug Requiring Blood Draws
A scenario about research in which blood is drawn from patients with dementia who cannot understand the reason why.
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Credit and Collaboration in a Molecular Biology Lab
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when people collaborate on research ideas.
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Commercialization
Should donors of human biological material for research be told of the potential profits companies and researchers may gain from this research?
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If You Were an IACUC Committee Member
A number of scenarios about research to be approached from the perspective of someone on an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
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Conflicts of Interest and Informed Consent?
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a researcher is unsure if a study participant is too incapacitated to actually give informed consent.
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Conflicting Obligations: Part II
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when children are reluctant to continue participation in research studies.
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Conflicting Obligations: Part III
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when children dissent to continuing with the next phase of research while their parents assent to the research.
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Interpreting Consent for Research on Archived Tissue
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when a researcher wants to use human tissue originally collected for other research.
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Pressure From Consulting
Ethical issues that arise when a supervisor requests a student's help and the student feels as if she cannot say no.
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What About My Contribution?
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when researchers publish a paper based on another researcher's refinements.
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Authorship Conventions in the Laboratory Sciences: Quotations from <cite>Cantor's Dilemma</cite> by Carl Djerassi
Quotations from Cantor's Dilemma by Carl Djerassi on the subject of authorship conventions in the laboratory science.
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Credit and Time Pressure
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when an author's name is left off of a paper.
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Data and Collaboration
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about data collaboration between labs and disciplines.
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The Deceased Author
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when an author of a paper is deceased.
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Parents as Primary Decision-Makers for Children
Explanation of the rights of parents over children and the role parents play as a result of that right in consent for research on behalf of children.
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Experiment Discomfort
A scenario about research that requires one to experiment on animals while the animal is conscious.
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Disclosing Preliminary Results to Research Subjects
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about when, if ever, information gained from studying a family's genes should be disclosed to the family.
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Disagreement About Consent
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when members of the health care team disagree about whether a mentally ill patient has actually given informed consent.
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A Claim of Prior Discovery by a Reviewer
A scenario about a researcher who, after reviewing a journal article, recommends rejecting it because it is not novel.
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Doubts About Published Results
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when one researcher suspects that another researcher fabricated data.
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The Dual Role of the Clinical Investigator
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a clinician is also the principle investigator.
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The Endless Dissertation
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a thesis supervisor demands significantly more work after the student thinks the draft is complete.
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Is There an Error?
Ethical issues that researchers face when it appears that there has been a serious error in data interpretation.
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Collegial Exchange and Exploitation
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about ways of responding to a suggestion from a researcher who has a reputation of freely taking others' ideas.
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Fair Credit for Inventors
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when more than one person contributes directly to an invention.
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The Family Problem
A scenario designed to stimulate discussion about ethical aspects of the supervisor-trainee relationship and family responsibilities.
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Reading Questions for Federal Regulations for Human Subjects Research
Reading questions to help bring out the key issues in the explanation of the general guidelines and federal regulations for human subjects research.
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A Fruitless Thesis
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in the supervisor-trainee relationship; namely, after reviewing a paper for a journal, a supervisor realizes that his student's thesis is fruitless.
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A Reviewer Learns the Fruitlessness of a New Research Project
A scenario about a researcher who, after reviewing a journal article, realizes that his collaborative project is fruitless.
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When Funding Runs Low
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when one researcher discovers that another researcher is mischarging in the lab.
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Gender Issues: Should You Find a New Supervisor?
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about gender issues in the advisor-advisee relationship
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Gene Therapy For Alzheimer's Disease
A scenario about research with patients who have dementia meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in this type of research.
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Credit in a Grant Proposal
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise a professor incorporates the tables and figures of a student in a grant proposal.
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The New Hip
A scenario about a researcher who is trying to decide if an animal model is appropriate for her research.
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Introducing Viruses in the Field
A scenario about field research on a live HIV vaccine to be given to chimpanzees.
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Is This an Honor?
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about ways of responding to a suggestion from a researcher who has a reputation of freely taking others' ideas.
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A Question of Host Factors in Side Effects of Medication
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion regarding ethical issues in conducting research with genetics: in examining blood for possible side effects from drugs, researchers notice a link with genetic predispositions.
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Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals
A page describing the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals.
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The Very Interested Reviewer
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the moral situations that arise when a scientist gets an idea from an article he/she referees for a journal.
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The Very Interested Reviewer: Comments
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the moral situations that arise when a scientist gets an idea from an article he/she referees for a journal.
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The Very Interested Reviewer - Commentary 2
A computer scientist responds to the scenario in which a scientist gains a good idea from an article he reviews for a journal.
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The Jenny Ito Case: Getting Results
A scenario about a researcher who is faced with making a decision after her advisor asks her to modify the protocol to get results.
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The Jenny Ito Case: Getting Results - Dialogue Version
The dialogue version of a scenario about a researcher who is faced with making a decision after her advisor asks her to modify the protocol to get results.
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Key Issues in Research With Dementia Patients
Key moral issues that arise when doing research with dementia patients; including informed consent, minimal risk, and benefits.
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Key Issues in Research With Children
Key ethical issues that arise in conducting research with children; including research without direct benefit, parental rights versus assent, and harm from overprotection.
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Cooperation and Competition Between Two Thesis Students
A scenario meant to encourage discussion of the ethical issues that arise when one doctoral student is told to do work on a problem that another doctoral student has been already working on for quite some time.
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Working Relationships in the Lab
A module for students and faculty to encourage discussion about ethical issues that arise among students working in the same lab under the same advisor.
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Safety in a Research Laboratory
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about laboratory safety; namely, what a person should do when her coworkers are not practicing good safety habits.
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Post-Menopausal Women at Risk
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in randomized research trials studying the effects of hormones on thwarting Alzheimer's Disease in women who are particularly susceptible to the disease.
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The Missing Step
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when researchers discover a mistake in the data or method used in a paper already published.
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The Monitor's Consent
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when members of the health care team disagree about whether a mentally ill patient has actually given informed consent.
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A Question of Motives for Funding Research
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when the institution funding research has morally suspicious motives.
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My Data
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about who posseses data produced in a lab.
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Reading Questions for NBAC report on Research Involving Persons With Mental Disorders That May Affect Decision Making Capacity
Reading questions to help bring out the key issues in The National Bioethics Advisory Commission's report on Research Involving Persons With Mental Disorders That May Affect Decision making Capacity.
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Negotiating Research Practices with Local Communities
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a genetic predisposition is found among a certain part of the population.
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A Question of Sacrifice
A scenario about research that requires one to sacrifice animals without anesthetics or analgesics.
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The Nurse Researcher
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion regarding ethical issues in conducting research with children as a nurse researcher working with Trisomy 21 (Down's Syndrome).
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Recontacting Old Research Subjects with New Clinical Findings
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a researcher discovers information about individuals' cancer risks in the course of doing genetic research.
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Oops--Broke Another One
A scenario in which a graduate student repeatedly breaks expensive laboratory equipment.
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Author Order and Quality of Publication - Postdocs
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when multiple researchers contribute to a paper.
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Outliers in Survey Data
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about how to interpret data.
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Plagiarism in a Grant Proposal
A scenario about a researcher who figures out that a different research group in her lab plagiarized her work for a now approved grant proposal.
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Was Part of Your Proposal Plagiarized?
A scenario about a researcher who believes that her research grant proposal, after having been turned down, was plagiarized by another researcher.
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Scenarios on Plagiarism
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when a student is not listed second autor on a manuscript.
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Data from a Graduate Course --Social Science
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when a student wants to use a professors data in a manuscript.
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Whose Intellectual Property?
A scenario dealing with the ownership of intellectual property.
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When May a Student Publish? Version for Theoretical Work
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when students need advisor approval on order to submit papers for conferences or publishing.
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Reading Questions for Ethics Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research
A list of reading questions to assist students in understanding the Ethics Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research.
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A Child's Question
A scenario about a child who is enrolled in a nontherapuetic study asks whether the IV he is about to recieve is necessary to make him better. Scenario is meant to stimulate discussion about some ethical issues that may arise in pediatric research.
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Discussion questions based on the ACS Guidelines and 'On Being a Scientist.'
Discussion questions based on the ACS Guidelines and 'On Being a Scientist.'
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Getting a Recommendation
A scenario in which a PH.D. candidate needs recommendation letters and is unable to obtain them.
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Data Reduction Techniques
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about ways of responding to different results obtained by duplicating an experiment.
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References
References for the Responsible Research Modules.
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Federal Regulations for Animal Research
Explanations of general guidelines and federal regulations for research with animals.
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Explanation of Federal Regulations for Human Subjects Research, Part 1
Explanations of general guidelines and federal regulations for human subjects research.
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Explanation of Federal Regulations for Human Subjects Research, Part 2
Explanations of general guidelines and federal regulations for human subjects research.
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Recruiting Relatives of a Proband with a Stigmatizing Condition
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion of the ethical issues that arise in trying to research the genetic factors involved in mental illness.
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Data in a Press Release
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about ways of responding to a suggestion from a researcher who has a reputation of freely taking others' ideas.
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Responding to a Request for Information
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a genetic predisposition is found among a certain part of the population.
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How Should Undergraduates Acknowledge Research Aid
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when people give helpful information for a project but do not contribute significantly.
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Choosing Reviewers
A scenario discussing how to choose reviewers for an article that has been submitted to a scientific journal.
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Risks to the Data
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about how to protect the data in a research lab.
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Scientific and Ethical Justification for Using Animals in Research
A brief discussion of the principles that are used to justify research on animals and the questions the appeal to these principles raises.
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Data Sharing and Intellectual Property in Bioinformatics
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about how to share intellectual property in order to stimulate research.
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Using Shared Tissues Samples for Genetic Research
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when researchers want to share samples of human tissue for research; issues of informed consent and privacy arise here.
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Sharing Ideas
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when one author doesn't want to cooperate with a person who shared her ideas.
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The Problem of Similar Manuscripts
A scenario about how a journal editor should handle the sutuation when similar manuscripts are submitted to a journal around the same time.
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Professors Big and Small
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when a student is not listed author on a manuscript.
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Professors Qualitative and Quantitative
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when a student is not listed second autor on a manuscript.
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When the Proposed Research May be Objectionable to the Source of the Tissue
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in genetic research and ethnic group susceptibility.
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Struggle over Data
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about ways of responding to a conflict over data between a faculty member and a student.
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Summer Vacation
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in the advisor-advisee relationship; namely, when it is appropriate to express concerns or disappointment to one's advisor?
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Your Supervisor's Recommendation for a Job
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise in the supervisor-trainee relationship; namely, a student is worried about the recommendation his advisor will write given present setbacks in his research.
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Surprise Authorship, Credit, and Responsibility
A scenario dealing with issues of authorship, credit, and responsibility as pertaining to graduate students.
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Surprise Authorship, Credit and Responsibility
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when researchers put a person's name on the author list without that person's knowledge.
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Survival Skills for Emerging Researchers
A scenario about a researcher who is faced with making a decision after several dogs die in the course of his experiment.
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Switching Advisors?
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about situations where a student might be justified in switching advisors.
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Timely Publication - Graduate Student
A scenario that covers ethical issues that arise when supervisor does not review a doctoral student's manuscript.
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General Issues for Discussion in Research on Vulnerable Populations
This page contains discussion questions on research on vulnerable populations.
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Excluding a Population: A Claim of Risks
Researchers propose to exclude women from the protocol on the basis of the claim that the research poses risk to reproductive systems.
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The Vulnerability of Patients Suffering from Mental Illness as Research Subjects
A list of ethical concerns that arise when doing research on human subjects who are mentally ill.
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The Alzheimer's Caregiver Study
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when researchers propose to do research on persons with Alzheimer's Deisease and their caregivers.
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The Nurse Therapist's Problem
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a participant's spouse wishes to remove teh participant from the research study.
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Unwilling Research Subjects
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when researchers propose to do research on a marginalized ethnic group who are already suspicious of research.
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A Vaccine for Isolated Populations
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when the research proposal includes a population vulnerable to the disease.
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Weighing Contributions to an Article
A scenario about a journal editor who realizes that a manuscript submitted for review is similar to that of one of dissertators.
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When Should We Accept Consent?
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a researcher is unsure if a study participant is too incapacitated to actually give informed consent.
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Who is Where on the Author List--Graduate Students?
Scenarios discussing the proper listing of authors including graduate students and postdocs.
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The Patient Wants to Withdraw
A scenario meant to stimulate discussion about the ethical issues that arise when a patient wishes to withdraw from a clinical study and the researcher disputes the patient's competency.