Selected Resources on Teaching GeoEthics: Getting Started

David Mogk, Montana State University

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Reports on Teaching Ethics

National Research Council, 2009, Ethics Education and Scientific and Engineering Research, What's Been Learned? What Should be Done? Summary of a Workshop, National Academy Press.

"Description: Increasing complexity and competitiveness in research environments, the prevalence of interdisciplinary and international involvement in research projects, and the close coupling of commerce and academia have created an ethically challenging environment for young scientists and engineers. For the past several decades, federal research agencies have supported projects to meet the need for mentoring and ethics training in graduate education in research, often called training in the responsible conduct of research. Recently, these agencies have supported projects to identify ethically problematic behaviors and assess the efficacy of ethics education in addressing them."

National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, 2009, On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research: Third Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

"Description The scientific research enterprise is built on a foundation of trust. Scientists trust that the results reported by others are valid. Society trusts that the results of research reflect an honest attempt by scientists to describe the world accurately and without bias. But this trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct. On Being a Scientist was designed to supplement the informal lessons in ethics provided by research supervisors and mentors. The book describes the ethical foundations of scientific practices and some of the personal and professional issues that researchers encounter in their work. It applies to all forms of research--whether in academic, industrial, or governmental settings-and to all scientific disciplines. "

National Academy of Engineering Practical Guidance on Science and Engineering Ethics Education for Instructors and Administrators: Papers and Summary from a Workshop December 12, 2012

"This report presents the edited papers and a summary of a workshop on best practices for ethics education programs in science and engineering, with presentations in four key areas: goals and objectives for ethics instruction, instructional assessment, institutional and research cultures, and development of guidance checklists for instructors and administrators."

National Academy of Engineering Engineering, Social Justice, and Sustainable Community Development

This workshop addresses conflicting positive goals for engineering projects in impoverished areas and areas in crisis. These conflicts arise domestically as well as in international arenas. The goals of project sponsors and participants, which are often implicit, include protecting human welfare, ensuring social justice, and striving for environmental sustainability alongside the more often explicit goal of economic development or progress.

What is Ethics in Research and Why is it Important?--David Resnik, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; includes an important lists of attributes of ethical behaviors in research.

AAAS Professional Ethics Report Archives--published by the AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program, reports date back to 1988; a very rich collection of topics and issues! the 1981 "AAAS Professional Ethics Project: Professional ethics activities in the scientific and engineering societies" project edited by Rosemary A Chalk remains a great foundation for exploring professional ethics among the STEM disciplines.

Responsible Conduct of Research Resources

• Singapore Statement on Research Integrity , download the Summary of Singapore Statement (Acrobat (PDF) 336kB Oct9 14)
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE); Code of Conduct, rights and responsibilities of editors, reviewers and authors.
• Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights, and Law Program--AAAS
• "Falsification, Fabrication, Plagiarism & Cheating Bibliography" , Online Ethics Center for Engineering 2/15/2011 National Academy of Engineering Accessed: Sunday, June 08, 2014.
• "Conflicts of Interest Bibliography" , Online Ethics Center for Engineering 7/12/2010 National Academy of Engineering Accessed: Sunday, June 08, 2014.
• "Authorship & Peer Review in Science and Engineering Bibliography" , Online Ethics Center for Engineering 6/29/2010 National Academy of EngineeringAccessed: Sunday, June 08, 2014.
• "Mentoring and Ethical Climate of Research Bibliography" , Online Ethics Center for Engineering 3/26/2010 National Academy of Engineering Accessed: Sunday, June 08, 2014
• Northeast Ethics Education Partnership--Collaborative Initiative for Research Ethics; a treasure trove of Powerpoint slide sets, course syllabi, bibliographies with a strong focus on the environment and environmental health.

Resources on Teaching Ethics Specific to the Geosciences

• Ethics Education for Geospatial Professionals
• The GIS Professional Ethics Project: Practical Ethics Education for GIS Pros
• International Association for Geoethhics (IAGETH)
• International Association for Promoting Geoethics (more info) (IAPG)
• The Need for Geoethics Awareness from a Canadian Perspective, Anne Marie Ryan and Cari-Georg Bank, 2017, Geosciences, 7(4), doi: 10.3390/geosciences7040120, surveyed Canadian Earth scientists "....to (1) rate the importance of issues around scientific integrity, social responsibility, aboriginal concerns, corporate ethics, and fieldwork; (2) identify ethical considerations they had observed; and (3) tell us how they were introduced to ethical viewpoints and whether their undergraduate programs had prepared them for ethical decision-making."
• Geoethics Resources--compiled by Vince Cronin, Baylor University; codes of ethics, ethics organizations, online resources, presentations about ethics, writings about ethics, textbooks and references about ethics
  • Suggestions for Infusing Ethics Throughout a Geoscience Department--Vince Cronin, Baylor University; EGU 2018 presentation.
  • Example Departmental Ethics Page--Vince Cronin, Baylor University

Special Volumes Focused on GeoEthics

• Annals of Geophysics , Vol 55, No 3 (2012) Geoethics and geological culture. Reflections from the Geoitalia Conference 2011; articles on Geoethics and Geological Culture: Methods, Goals, and Values Able to Influence Society, Geoethical Implications in Risks and Geo-Resources Management Communication and Education Related to Geosciences in a Geoethical Perpective, Geoheritage, and Geodiversity as Values for Sustainability
• Geothics Ethical Challenges and Case Studies in Earth Sciences, M. Wyss and S. Peppoloni (eds), 2014, Elsevier, 200 pp.
• Engineering Geology for Society and Territory - Volume 7: Education, Professional Ethics and Public Recognition of Engineering Geology, 2014, Giorgio Lollino (Editor), Massimo Arattano (Editor), Marco Giardino (Editor), Ricardo Oliveira (Editor), Silvia Peppoloni (Editor).
• Scientific Integrity and Ethics in the Geosciences--Linda C. Gundersen (Ed), 2017, AGU/Wiley, 344 pages; ISBN: 978-1-119-06778-8 n; see also AGU Editor's Vox by Linda Gundersen, "Ethics Crucial for the Future of the Geosciences"

Web Resources for Teaching Ethics

• Ethics Core -- start here for comprehensive collections of resources, articles, case studies and much more!
• AAAS Professional Ethics Reports Archives
• Northeast Ethics Education Partnership--Dianne Quigley (PI), Brown University; a treasure trove of excellent powerpoints, bibliographies, course syllabi,.... and much more.
• Compilation of Internet Resources on Teaching Ethics (Acrobat (PDF) 181kB Oct10 14) -- from the National Science Foundation
• Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative at the University of Miami (CITI) Responsible Conduct of Research program
• Ethics Core--the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics, funded by NSF; a very rich resource with up to date collections of resources, articles, teaching methods, case studies, and much more.
• Loui, Michael Getting Started: Selected Resources for New Instructors of Ethics in Science, and Engineering and Computing
• National Academy of Engineering Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science -- 495 case studies, teaching tools and annotated bibliography
• National Academy of Engineering Center for Engineering, Ethics, and Society (CEES) -- "CEES activities address ethically significant issues that arise in engineering and scientific research, education, and practice. These issues arise for individual engineers and scientists as well as for social organizations and institutions. CEES projects engage a wide audience to help improve ethics education and enhance social responsibility in engineering and science."
• National Postdoctoral Association Responsible Conduct of Research for Postdocs -- Topics of interest include: Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership; Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship; Peer Review; Collaborative Science; Research Misconduct; and Communication and Difficult Conversations.
• National Science Foundation, Responsible Conduct of Research--response to requirements of the America Competes Act to teach responsible conduct of research
• Resources for Research Ethics Education , UC San Diego--a very rich collection of advice on "what" and "how" to teach research ethics.
• US Dept of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity
• Collaborative Development of Ethics Across the Curriculum Resources and Sharing of Best Practices -- OpenStax CNX
• Getting Started: Selected Resources for New Instructors of Ethics in Science, and Engineering and Computing (Acrobat (PDF) 209kB Oct10 14) compiled by Michael Loui, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Coordinated Science Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Ethics by Design -- Build trust, assure compliance, prevent fraud and misconduct; training tools and online resources.

Videos on Teaching Ethics

• AAAS Integrity in Scientific Research Video Series
• The Ethics of Nanotechnology--Microelectronics Research Center, University of Texas-Austin, as part of the NSF National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure program