Skip to main content
Log in

Preparation for professional self-regulation

  • Published:
Science and Engineering Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article asserts that graduate study should include preparation for participation in the process of self-regulation to assure the responsible conduct of research in the scientific community. This article outlines the various ways in which doctoral study can incorporate such preparation. These suggested ways include the inculcation of general attitudes and values about professional self-regulation, various ways doctoral study can be configured so that future scientists are prepared to participate in the deterrence, detection and sanctioning of scientific wrongdoing. The stages of doctoral study in the United States and their relevance to preparation for self-regulations are also discussed. Recommendations regarding an extended role for faculty advisors, graduate assistantships, coursework and departmental policies and activities are also advanced.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. La Follette, M. (1999) A foundation of trust: Scientific misconduct, congressional oversight, and the regulatory process, in: Braxton, J.M. (ed.) Perspectives on scholarly misconduct in the sciences, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, pp. 11–41.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Goode, W.J. (1957) Community within a community, American Sociological Review 22: 194–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Zuckerman, H.E. (1977) Deviant behavior and social control in science, in: Sagarin, E. (ed.) Deviance and social change, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, pp. 87–139.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Zuckerman, H.E. (1988) The sociology of science, in Smelser, N.J. (ed.) Handbook of sociology, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, pp.511–74.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Anderson, M.S., Louis, K.S. and Earle, J. (1999) Disciplinary and departmental effects on observations of faculty and graduate student misconduct, in: Braxton, J.M. (ed.) Perspectives on scholarly misconduct in the sciences, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, pp. 213–235.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Merton, R.K., Reader, G.G., and Kendall, P.L. (1957) The student-physician, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Hagstrom, W.O. (1965) The scientific community, Basic Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Cole, S. and Cole, J.R. (1973) Social stratification in science, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Merton, R.K. (1973) The sociology of science: Theoretical and empirical investigations, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Bragg, A. K. (1976) The socialization process in higher education, ERIC/Higher Education Report, No. 7, American Association for Higher Education, Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Bucher, R. and Stelling, K. (1977) Becoming professional, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Moore, W. E. (1969). Occupational socialization, in Goslin, D. (ed.) Handbook of socialization theory and research, Rand McNally, Chicago, pp. 861–883.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Penslar, R.L., ed. (1995) Research ethics: Cases and materials, University of Indiana Press, Bloomington.

    Google Scholar 

  14. National Institutes of Health (1990) Reminder and update: Requirements for programs on the responsible conduct of research in national research service award institutional training programs, NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts 19: 9.

    Google Scholar 

  15. National Institutes of Health (1992) Reminder and update: Requirements for programs on the responsible conduct of research in national research service award institutional training programs, NIH guide for grants and contracts 21: 2–3.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Commission on Research Integrity (1995) Integrity and misconduct in research: Report of the commission on research integrity, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Bell, R. (1992) Impure science, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Douglas, J.D. (1992) Betraying scientific truth, Transaction 30: 76–82.

    Google Scholar 

  19. St. James-Roberts, I. (1976) Are researchers trustworthy? New Scientist 72: 481–83.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Weinstein, D. (1979) Fraud in science, Social Science Quarterly 59: 639–52.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Black, D. (1976) The behavior of law, The Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Steneck, N. (1999) Research universities and scientific misconduct: History, policies and the future, in: Braxton, J.M. (ed.) Perspectives on scholarly misconduct in the sciences, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, pp. 75–95.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Kuhn, T.S. (1970) The structure of scientist revolutions, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Mullins, N.C. (1973) Science: Some sociological perspectives, Bobbs-Merrill, Indianpolis.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Braxton, J.M. (1991) The influence of graduate department quality on the sanctioning of scientific misconduct, Journal of Higher Education 62: 87–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Goode, W.J. (1969) The theoretical limits of professionalization, in: Etzioni, A. (ed.) The Semi-Professions, and their Organization, The Free Press, New York, pp. 266–313.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Braxton, J.M. (1999) Toward a guiding framework for self-regulation in the community of the academic profession, in: Braxton, J.M. (ed.) Perspectives on scholarly misconduct in the sciences, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, pp.139–161.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Freidson, E. (1975) Doctoring together: A study of professional social control, Elsevier, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Swazey, J.P., Anderson, M.S., and Louis, K.S. (1993) Ethical problems in academic research, American Scientist 81: 542–53.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Office of Inspector General. (1990) Survey data on the extent of misconduct in science and engineering, National Science Foundation, Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Fox, M.E. and Braxton, J.M. (1999) Self-regulation and social control in science: Roles, patterns, and constraints, in: Braxton, J.M. (ed.) Perspectives on scholarly misconduct in the sciences, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, pp.315–330.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Braxton, J.M. and Bayer, A.E. (1996) Personal experiences of research misconduct and the response of individual academic scientists, Science, Technology and Human Values 21: 198–213.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Chubin, D.E. (1983) Misconduct in research: An issue of science policy and practice, Minerva 23: 175–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Gaston, J. (1971) Secretiveness and competition for priority of discovery in physics, Minerva 9: 472–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Fox, M.E. (1999) Scientific misconduct and editorial and peer review processes, in: Braxton, J.M. (ed.) Perspectives on scholarly misconduct in the sciences, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, pp.162–173.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Chubin, D.E. and Hackett, E.J. (1990) Peerless science: Peer review and U.S. science policy, State University of New York Press, Albany.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Silverman, R. (1988) Peer judgement: An ideal typification, Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion and Utilization 9: 362–382.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Banner, J. (1988) Preserving the integrity of peer review, Scholarly Publishing 19: 109–15.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Peach, L. (1995) An introduction to ethical theory, in: Penslar, R.L. (ed.) Research ethics: Cases and materials, University of Indiana Press, Bloomington, pp. 13–26.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Toombs, W. (1977) Awareness and use of academic research, Research in Higher Education 7: 743–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Baird, L.L. (1990) The melancholy of anatomy: The personal and professional development of graduate and professional school students, in: Smart, J.C. (ed.) Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, Vol.6, Agathon Press, New York, pp. 361–392.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Stein, E. and Weidman, J. (1990) The socialization of doctoral students to academic norms, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, MA.

  43. Baird, L.L. (1993) Using research and theoretical models of graduate student progress, in: Baird, L.L. (ed.) Increasing Graduate Student Retention and Degree Attainment, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Tinto, V. (1991) Toward a theory of doctoral persistence, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

  45. Baird, L.L. (1972) The relation of graduate students to their stage of academic career, employment, and academic success, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 7: 428–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Katz, J. (1976) Development of the mind, in: Katz, J. and Hartnett, R.T. (eds.) Scholars in the Making, Ballinger, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Lozoff, M.M. (1976) Interpersonal relations and autonomy, in: Katz, J. and Hartnett, R.T. (eds.) Scholars in the Making, Ballinger, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Council of Graduate Schools (1990) Research student and supervisor: An approach to good supervisory practice, Council of Graduate Schools, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Berkenkotter, D., Huckin, T. N., and Ackerman, J. (1991) Social context and socially constructed texts: The initiation of a graduate student into a writing research community, in: C. Bazerman, C. Bazerman, C. and Paradis, J. (eds.) Textual dynamics of the professions: Historical and contemporary studies of writing in professional communities, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Council of Graduate Schools (1991) The role and nature of the doctoral dissertation: A policy statement, Council of Graduate Schools, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Strauss, A. (1959) Mirrors and masks: The search for identity, Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  52. Council of Graduate Schools. (1990) The doctor of philosophy degree, Council of Graduate Schools, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  53. Green, K. (1995) Academic procrastination and perfectionism: A comparison of graduates and ABD’s, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.

  54. Merriam, S. (1983) Mentors and protegés: A critical review of the literature, Adult Education Quarterly 33: 161–173.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Busch, J.W. (1985) Mentoring in graduate schools of education: Mentors’ perceptions, American Educational Research Journal 22: 257–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Sands, R.G., Parson, L.A., and Duane, J. (1991) Faculty mentoring faculty in a public university, Journal of Higher Education 62: 184–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Tierney, W.G., and Rhoads, R.A. (1993) Enhancing promotion, tenure and beyond: Faculty socialization as a cultural process, ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, No.6, The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  58. Heinrich, K.T. (1991) Loving partnerships: Dealing with sexual attraction and power in doctoral advisement relationships, Journal of Higher Education 62: 514–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Heinrich, K.T. (1995) Doctoral advisement relationships among women: On friendship and betrayal, Journal of Higher Education 66: 447–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Isaac, P.D., Quinlan, S.V., and Walker, M.M. (1992) Faculty perceptions of the doctoral dissertation, Journal of Higher Education 63: 241–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Nyquist, J.D. and Wulff, D.H. (1996) Working effectively with graduate assistants, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  62. Perna, L.W. and Hudgins, C. (1996) The graduate assistantship: Facilitator of graduate students’ professional socialization, paper presented at Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

  63. Hartnett, R.T. (1976) Environments for advanced learning, in: Katz, J. and Hartnett, R.T. (eds.) Scholars in the making, Ballinger Publishing, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  64. Crothers, C. (1991) The internal structure of sociology departments: The role of graduate students and other groups, Teaching Sociology 19: 333–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Bird, S.J. (1999) Including ethics in graduate education in scientific research, in: Braxton, J.M. (ed.) Perspectives on scholarly misconduct in the sciences, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, pp. 174–188.

    Google Scholar 

  66. Gumport, P.J. (1988) Curricula as signposts of cultural change, The Review of Higher Education 12: 49–61.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Victor, B. and Cullen, J. (1988) The organizational basis of ethical work climates, Administrative Science Quarterly 33: 33, 101–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Hartnett, R.T. and Katz, J. (1977) The education of graduate students, Journal of Higher Education 48: 646–664.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John M. Braxton.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Braxton, J.M., Baird, L.L. Preparation for professional self-regulation. SCI ENG ETHICS 7, 593–610 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-001-0016-8

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-001-0016-8

Keywords

Navigation