Ethics and Dilemmas

Ethics

Personal Philosophies / Standards

• Core Values
• Other Beliefs and Preferences

Social / Cultural Philosophies / Standards

• Fellow Researchers / Students Values
• Colleagues Values
  • Respect the Opinions and Beliefs of Others (You do not have to agree to be respectful.)
  • Communicate all Conditions and Dispositions of Research Results
  • Respect Intellectual and Cultural Property Rights
• Local Government and Community Values
  • Respect the Opinions and Recommendations of Local Authorities
  • Advocacy?, Land Rights?, Conservation?
• Federal Government Values
  • Comply with Regulations

Ethics & Behavior Questions

1. A student overhears someone discussing an upcoming research project. This student decides that he is a more appropriate person to do this study. Without consulting anyone, the student does the project and writes it up before the other person has done the study.
2. A research project seems to be going well until some data are collected that run counter to all the previous data. The student decides he is better off without these new observations so they go unreported.
3. A student attending a major international conference gets drunk at a reception. This leads to a heated discussion about one of the topics discussed in the conference.
4. A male graduate student makes advances on a female companion of a faculty member during a field expedition.
5. A female graduate student needs to collect marine specimens in a foreign country. She has brought along only a bikini and, since this is a tropical region, she wears only that while collecting.
6. A student applies for a permit to collect plant samples from a National Park as part of a research project. The student's advisor has indicated that she cannot finish her project without voucher specimens. The permit request is denied for no apparent reason.
7. While studying in a unique area, a company asks a student to sell them plant samples. They offer the student a large amount of money.
8. While conducting a transect on Haleakala, a student comes across a patch of marijuana that has clear signs of being cultivated.
9. A student is hired part-time to conduct an ecological assessment for a land development company. The company needs to have a positive review of the site in order to build a new facility. In the course of your survey, the student discovers a previously unknown population of an endangered plant species.
10. Part of a student's research involves a survey of plants in a small, isolated area. As he begin the work, he sees archaeological remains in the area, including what is likely to be a large temple site.
11. A student's advisor states an opinion that that student strongly disagree with and it is a critical issue regarding the interpretation of the student's research results.
12. A committee member makes an editorial change to a student's thesis that changes the interpretation of the results.
13. As a student approaches the completion of her research project, she suddenly realizes that a critical data point is missing or lost.
14. A student discovers that a chemical she has been carrying on an airplane to a remote field site is actually a banned substance. The student has one more trip to make and she absolutely needs that chemical to finish her data collection.
15. A student approaches his study area and discovers a community group is protesting entry by anyone other than members of that group.
16. A student goes for the final data collection trip to her long-term field site and discover that it has been bulldozed (or destroyed by a tidal wave).