Friday, February 11, 2005

Conduct Unbecoming

"The complexities of fraud in science are highlighted in The Great Betrayal, Horace Freeland Judson's new account of the subject. As he points out, it is extremely difficult even to define what the term scientific fraud actually means. Where, for example, is the line drawn between extreme sloppiness and genuine intent to deceive? Scientists, like many creative people, are not always blessed with attractive personalities. When does poor management or harassment of young people in research teams cross the border between bad behavior and genuine scientific misconduct? Considering the bumbling attempts on the part of universities, grant agencies and even governments to reach any consensus about how misconduct of this type should be investigated, and the difficulties for the legal profession in putting it into a framework that is consistent with other fields of law, how are we to investigate, let alone control, this kind of behavior in the future? And how are we to protect the reputations and careers of whistleblowers in this increasingly messy scene?" (Read more)...

posted by Truth Seeker @ 8:03 PM

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