Ethics in Research: Resource Guide for Graduate Students

Dear Graduate Students,
At IIT we strive to foster and encourage an ethical climate for all who conduct research, including our graduate students. This Web page of resources on ethical issues in research was created in order to provide you with guidance to help you make good judgments about how to conduct your research.

Most important among these resources is the list of people at IIT available to you, should you need assistance with an ethical question, issue or problem. These individuals welcome your questions about any ethical aspect of the research in which you are engaged. You are strongly encouraged to make contact as soon as you realize you need advice--so that you can get help with an ethical situation or dilemma as soon as possible.

We've also included a movie and an accompanying study guide about common ethical situations faced in the research arena, including mentoring, authorship, and scientific misconduct. Links to IIT policies and outside resources are also provided.

In summary, please know that the responsible and ethical conduct of research is my highest priority for IIT. I hope you will make full use of these resources and contacts. We are here to help you succeed in your research and want the climate in which you work to be of the highest standard.

Sincerely, Ali Cinar, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Research
Dean, Graduate College

People at IIT Who Can Help You

• Vice Provost for Research. Dr. Ali Cinar, 312.567.3637  cinar@iit.edu
• Chairperson, Institutional Review Board for Protection of Human Subjects. Dr. Patrick Corrigan, 312.567.6751 corrigan@iit.edu
• Chairperson, Institutional Biosafety Committee. Dr. Benjamin Stark, 312.567.3488 starkb@iit.edu
• Chairperson, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.  iacuc@iit.edu
• Director, Office of Research Compliance. Glenn Krell, 312.567.7141  orcpd@iit.edu.
  Research Compliance Web page.
  

IIT Resources

• Code of Academic Honesty - in the IIT Graduate Bulletin
• Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Policy - in the IIT Policies and Procedures Handbook

• "In The Lab: Mentors and Students Behind the Scenes" has been placed online for your use and discussion with your research colleagues. Three videos each present an introduction to a major topic in ethics in research. It is suggested that the three videos be viewed in separate sessions.  Please use the accompanying booklet, "Guide and Case Studies for the DVD, 'In the Lab: Mentors and Students Behind the Scenes'".  Per that guide: "The topics covered ... are sometimes sensitive topics. They are topics everyone talks about, but not always openly."
  
  Mentoring
  http://media.iitonline.iit.edu/research/inthelab/part1/ - 37:30
  
  Scientific Misconduct
  http://media.iitonline.iit.edu/research/inthelab/part2/ - 20:00
  
  Authorship
  http://media.iitonline.iit.edu/research/inthelab/part3/ - 20:30
  
  The above videos were funded by the Office of Research Integrity, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and were produced by the Department of Communication Studies, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2005.
  
  
• "Lab Management Video Vignettes," from Office of Research Integrity (ORI).
  http://learning.ucdavis.edu/LabAct/
  This series of video vignettes offers guidance on several issues pertaining to ethics in the research laboratory, including authorship, quality assurance, and day-to-day laboratory management issues. The series was funded by the Office of Research Integrity, and developed by the Laboratory Management Institute at the University of California, Davis.

• The Office of Research Integrity (US Dept. of Health and Human Services)
• NC State University Resource Guide in Research Ethics
• Ethics in Science Page, Department of Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
• Protecting Human Research Participants, a training course from the NIH Office of Extramural Research

• Gert, Bernard. 1997. Morality and scientific research. Chap. 2 in Research ethics: A reader, ed. Deni Elliott and Judy E. Stern, 20-30. Hanover, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, for the Institute for the Study of Applied and Professional Ethics at Dartmouth College.
• Bebeau, Muriel J., Kenneth D. Pimple, Karen M. T. Muskavitch, Sandra L. Borden, and David H. Smith. 1995. Moral reasoning in scientific research: Cases for teaching and assessment. Report, Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
• B. Glass, "The Ethical Basis of Science" Science. Vol. 150. 1965, p. 1254.
• On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research. National Academy of Sciences, National Academy Press, 1995.