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January 24, 2006
Integrity by Guidelines Is Misguided
Nicholas Wade, in the New York Times, paraphrases Emilie Marcus, editor of Cell, regarding the use of photo-editing software in the preparation of images for publication:
Rather than having journal editors acting as enforcers, she said, it may be better to thrust responsibility back to scientists, requiring the senior author to sign off that the images conform to the journal's guidelines.
While on staff at the Naval Academy I was involved in the disciplinary system. One thing that I think every staff member there comes to realize over their tour is that midshipmen do dishonorable things. Those who are caught are not necessarily the worst. The presence of a system of discipline creates conversations about integrity — applied, theoritical, deontological, consequentialist. The effect of the system extends far beyond the walls as the graduates develop through their careers as leaders in uniform, public service, and the private sector. The occasional scandal, while sad, does help reinvigorate those conversations around the country.
However, it also becomes quite clear that no prescriptive solution exists because the concievable scenarios are infinite. In fact, the set of all possible scenarios is a continuous, unbounded infinity. Quite large indeed. While guidelines and a system of discipline are appropriate, it doesn't make much sense to me to require people to be signing agreements that they have acted with integrity. It is the conversation, the thinking, that prepares each individual mind to navigate the seen and unseen ethical, dare we say, moral, challenges encountered every day. Moral crimes may be adjudicated in high courts with pomp and circumstance, but the crimes are typically committed through a series of poor judgements during the course of one's daily routine.
So I disagree that authors should sign off on some guideline. Integrity should be assumed and lapses should be dealt with swiftly and harshly. To further the conversation.
Posted by Niels Olson at January 24, 2006 4:21 PM
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