THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

RESEARCH ETHICS or the RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH

"Research ethics" or "responsible conduct of research" (RCR) are terms used broadly to refer to many ethically significant issues that arise in research, from fair apportionment of credit among members of a research team, to responsible behavior in submitting or reviewing grant applications and the responsible treatment of research subjects.

Since the U.S. government and institutional regulations regarding the treatment of human and animal research subjects predated the increased attention to and the regulation of matters of research integrity (including fair credit) that arose in the 1980s, some RCR resources address only issues of research integrity and not the treatment of research subjects. Similarly, laboratory safety has long been regulated by OSHA, and is not necessarily a matter of research integrity. Therefore, it too is often omitted from discussions of responsible behavior in research. For example, On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research, published by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, in both its first and second edition omitted any discussion of the treatment of research subjects or laboratory safety. The treatment of research subjects and laboratory safety are nevertheless reasonably classed as matters of research ethics, even if they are not always included under this designation.

In Europe, the term ?good scientific practice? covers much of the same territory as research ethics and RCR.

National Academy of Engineering

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