Abstract
In discussions of professional standards and ethical values it is reasonable to consider who will develop the codes of conduct and guidelines for behavior that will reflect the standards and values of the community. Also worthy of consideration is whether the standards or guidelines are enforceable, and how and to what extent they will be enforced. The development of guidelines or professional codes of conduct is a responsibility that has been adopted by many professional societies. Useful to this discussion is an examination of the rationale behind the development of ethical codes by professional societies. The Ethics in Science Committee of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) has examined the codes of some of its member societies and some observations regarding them are pertinent. The nature and uses of ethical statements, codes and guidelines developed by professional societies are multiple and diverse. Their enforcement raises both practical and ethical concerns.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Davis, M. (1995) An Historical Preface to Engineering Ethics, Science and Engineering Ethics 1: 33–48.
Bird, S.J. (1997) The role of science professionals in teaching responsible research conduct. Bioscience 46: 783–786.
Alberts, B. & Shine, K. (1994) Scientists and the Integrity of Research. Science 266: 1660.
Council of Scientific Society Presidents (1995) Society Policies on Ethics Issues. Council of Scientific Society Presidents, Washington, DC.
Jorgensen, A. (1995) Survey shows professional societies have developed policies on ethical issues, but enforcement mechanisms are lacking. Professional Ethics Report 8 (1): 1–6.
Frankel, M. (1996) Developing Ethical Standards for Responsible Research: Why? Form? Functions? Process? and Outcomes?, Journal of Dental Research 75: 832–835.
Unger, S.H. (1991). Codes of Engineering Ethics, in: Johnson, D.G. (ed.) Ethical Issues in Engineering, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Harris, C.E., Pritchard, M.S. & Rabins, M.J. (1995) Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases. Wadsworth Publishing Co., Belmont, CA.
Anderson, R.E., Johnson, D.G., Gotterbarn, D. & Perrolle, J. (1993) ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct: Using the New ACM Code of Ethics in Decision Making, Communications of the ACM 36 (2): 1–8.
Sieber, J.E. (1998) The Psychology of Whistleblowing, Science and Engineering Ethics 4: 7–23.
McKnight, D.M. (1998) Scientific societies and whistleblowers: The relationship between the community and the individual, Science and Engineering Ethics 4: 97–113.
Abeles, N. (1998) Commentary on “Scientific Societies and Whistleblowers: the Relationship between the Community and the Individual” (by McKnight), Science and Engineering Ethics 4: 115–117.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bird, S.J. The role of professional societies: Codes of conduct and their enforcement. SCI ENG ETHICS 4, 315–320 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-998-0023-0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-998-0023-0