What are the best practices? (Has Best Practice)
From The Embassy of Good Science
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Although adequeate checks and balances seem to have not been in place at the time when the experiment was being conducted, Dr. Green should have informed his patients about the unorthodox method he was using. +
- Standards of Professionalism and trust
- Equality
- Academic freedom
- Teamwork and mutual respect
- Social responsibility
- Integrity and loyalty
- Response to misconduct allegations +
- Honesty
- Respecting the dignity of human subjects
- Non-maleficence
- Proportionality
- Social responsibility
- Respect for the environment +
- Abiding by the Law of Academic Freedom
- Honesty in scientific work
- Following ethical guidelines of specific area of research
- Acknowledging colleagues and sources
- Ensuring good collaboration
- Being accountable for resources
- Ensure validity of results
- Adhering to publication norms
- Unbiased reporting of results
- Maintaining and improving scientific competence +
- Impartiality
-Students' and Supervisors' Obligations +
Worldwide, governmentally regulated limitations for maintaining embryos in cryostorage vary from 24 months to an infinite duration'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000D-QINU`"'. Although consensus regarding the ethics of thawing and discarding does not exist, in the absence of explicit, contemporaneous consent, approaches to the issue of unclaimed embryos have been proposed by other advisory bodies. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) Task Force on Ethics and Law has advocated standard time limits that can be renewed a limited number of times on a couple’s demand'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000E-QINU`"', while the ASRM committee concluded that a clinic can consider embryos abandoned and discard them if 5 years has passed since the last contact with the couple and if significant efforts have been made to contact that couple'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000F-QINU`"'. Spanish regulations mandate that embryos should only be used for reproductive purposes, which makes embryo donation the only legal solution when couples do not want the embryos for their own transfer'"`UNIQ--ref-00000010-QINU`"'. Meanwhile, Malta is one of the countries whose legislation does not permit embryo discarding and allows to inseminate up to three oocytes while all resulting embryos are required to be transferred'"`UNIQ--ref-00000011-QINU`"'. Although this immensely complicated issue is substantially discussed in the bioethical and philosophical literature, it is still one of the most significant ethical dilemmas in the world of Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART)'"`UNIQ--ref-00000012-QINU`"' +
See also: http://www.nature.com/news/fewer-numbers-better-science-1.20858 +
As Anne Pybern (a member of the Committee on Ethics) notes, such scenario requires carefully considered and flexible responses so that we do not end up serving the various existing rules instead of using these rules to service the ethical needs of humanity accordingly. +
*A set of guidelines to develop mentorship training designed to take into account ethical ambiguities from a cultural perspective and identifying beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors that could impact interpretation or acceptance of institutional standards and guidelines (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia guidebook).
*A set of online modules designed to offer the user an open-ended learning environment. This is to say that there is no set path that all users must follow, while there will be a strongly suggested path, the module will not force each user into an area. Users are free to decide how to use the materials presented to suit their individual needs and interests. Of course, our wish is that the user will review all sections of the module in depth along our suggested path (Columbia University training module)
*A set of online modules on RCR topics developed with the support of RCR Education Grants awarded by the Office of Research Integrity to the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center at Northern Illinois University (Northern Illinois University training module).
*A series of video vignettes and discussion guide to provoke discussion, facilitate problem-solving and identify alternate courses of action (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia training module).
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The aim of all eight scenarios is to allow researchers, research ethics committees ('RECs'), research integrity offices ('RIOs') and research administrators to focus their reflection on core principles and research contexts that enshrine good research practice as well as their local rules and practices. +
Editors need to publish a retraction notice and specifically clarify the unreliability of results, without making a reference to the mental state of the author. +
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The concordat targets four main areas:
*Maintaining the highest standards of research integrity
*Embedding a culture of research integrity
*Dealing with allegations of research misconduct
*A commitment to strengthening research integrity
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- Preparatoty steps
-Steps of investigative procedure: pre-screening, screening, formal investigation +
- Maintaining RI standards
- Ethical and other frameworks
- Fostering a culture of research integrity
- Handling and preventing research misconduct
- Practices to strengthen integrity +
Understanding artificial intelligence ethics and safety: A guide for the responsible design and implementation of AI systems in the public sector +
This document provides end-to-end guidance on how to apply principles of AI ethics and safety to the design and implementation of algorithmic systems in the public sector. The guidance has set the foundation for The AI Ethics and Governance in Practice Programme curriculum which is composed of a series of eight workbooks, the first four published in 2023 and the second four to be published in 2024.
Each of the workbooks in the series covers how to implement a key component of the PBG Framework. These include sustainability, fairness, technical safety, accountability, explainability, and data stewardship. Each of the workbooks also focuses on a specific domain, so that case studies can be used to promote ethical reflection and animate the key concepts. +
The Belmont report '"`UNIQ--ref-00000003-QINU`"' , the Declaration of Helsinki '"`UNIQ--ref-00000004-QINU`"' and similar ethical and legal documents were enacted by governing bodies and professional associations.
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The VLIR Mind the GAP podcast focuses in different episodes on:
* the concept of research integrity itself
* research data management
* corrections and retractions
* authorship
* the use of genAI in research
* how human vulnerability affects research integrity and vice versa +
The VLIR Mind the GAP podcast focuses in different episodes on:
* the concept of research integrity itself
* research data management
* corrections and retractions
* authorship
* the use of genAI in research
* how human vulnerability affects research integrity and vice versa +
Values and norms are core concepts in moral reflection about research integrity. For instance in Moral Case Deliberation (MCD), a method used to reflect on morally troublesome situations, investigation of values and norms is used to deepen the understanding of the situation at stake.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000003-QINU`"' A core element in this investigation, guided by a facilitator, is analysing the case by looking at the values and norms of all relevant perspectives (persons involved in the case and/or participants in the MCD meeting). Which values motivate each person? How can these values be specified into norms? For example, a moral issue might concern supervision. Should one, as a supervisor of a PhD student, in preparing a response to a reviewer, give guidance and correct mistakes, or at some point take over the writing? A relevant value for the supervisor in the case might be: autonomy. The corresponding norm in the case could be: I should give the opportunity to the PhD student to try this herself. Another value might be: effectiveness. The norm related to this value in the concrete situation could be: the article should be accepted and published. In analysing the case from the perspective of the supervisor, the group becomes aware of these conflicting values. This may then give rise to a dialogue on what value is most important in this situation. This can lead to a conclusion on the most desirable norm and related course of action. Also, the dialogue might provide insights in how to deal with the conflicting value which turns out less important. How can one do justice to the value which will not be realized? In the example, efficiency might turn out to be the most important for the supervisor, meaning that, at a certain point, she will take over the writing. In order to do justice to the value of autonomy, the supervisor might, for instance, propose that the PhD student will get more responsibility for writing the response after submission of the next article. MCD can thus foster decision making, not by prescribing a rule, but by encouraging reflection and dialogue, enabling participants to achieve a new and richer view of the situation.
It is useful to differentiate between three different types of scientific values and norms: ''internal'' values and norms, ''external'' values and norms, and ''linkage'' values and norms.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000004-QINU`"' Internal values and norms of science justify and guide the practice of science itself. Examples of scientific values of the internal kind are: truth, honesty, simplicity, consistency, coherence, economy, exactitude and completeness, openness, open-mindedness, confidence, originality and ‘interestingness’. External values and norms comprise general ideals and rules for action, which are relevant for science, but are not constitutive of the practice of science itself. Examples of external values are human (and animal) welfare notions, which are related to the wider social and cultural context in which scientists operate. Finally, we have a different set of values and norms guiding scientific research, which represent normative points of contact - linkage - between the research community and the community at large, between internal and external values and norms. Examples are requirements of fruitfulness and relevance.
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The tool prompts reflection on the five principles, and uses results-based planning to help you apply them to your research project.
Results-based planning (similar to the Theory of Change approach) is a technique that starts with the end goal of your project, asking: ''What is the change you want to see in the world?'' For each principle we have provided you with a broad, ultimate goal for change – an outcome. You are asked to apply this outcome to your own research context, and decide what it should look like for your project in practical terms.
The tool will then guide you through the next steps of this process: identifying the outputs that will help you to achieve your outcome, the actions needed to get there, and the necessary resources. +
