- What kinds of reasons are offered for fabricating data? Which, if any, of those reasons are good reasons--i.e., reasons that might justify fabricating data?
- Who is likely to be harmed by fabricating data? Does actual harm have to occur in order for fabrication to be ethically wrong?
- What responsibilities does a scientist have for checking on the trustworthiness of the work of other scientists?
- What should a scientist do if he or she has reason to believe that another scientist has fabricated data?
- Why is honesty in scientific research important to the scientific community? Why is honesty in scientific research important for the public?
Monday, March 30, 2009
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If information is fabricated it could become a matter of safety because if scientists lie about testing a certain product, it could be dangerous for the public to use. The risks would not be properly investigated and no one is aware.
ReplyDeleteHonesty is the most important part of scientific research because science is essentially supposed to be factual. The public should be able to trust the experiments of scientists and the results that they publish, because false results could have a potentially disastrous effect on the world.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what we thought when we created this summary and answered the questions! It is ridiculous that people do not consider the harmful consequences of fabricating data. It is one of the most basic rules you learn as a child, "Honesty is the best policy." Dishonest research has been very damaging to coworkers who were unaware and the uninformed public in the past and will no doubt be corruptive if a similar incidence takes place again.
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