Challenges in studying the effects of scientific societies on research integrity

Abstract

Beyond impressionistic observations, little is known about the role and influence of scientific societies on research conduct. Acknowledging that the influence of scientific societies is not easily disentangled from other factors that shape norms and practices, this article addresses how best to study the promotion of research integrity generally as well as the role and impact of scientific societies as part of that process. In setting forth the parameters of a research agenda, the article addresses four issues: (1) how to conceptualize research on scientific societies and research integrity; (2) challenges and complexities in undertaking basic research; (3) strategies for undertaking basic research that is attentive to individual, situational, organizational, and environmental levels of analysis; and (4) the need for evaluation research as integral to programmatic change and to assessment of the impact of activities by scientific societies.

Scientific societies and research integrity: What are they doing and how well are they doing it?

“…Baseline levels of research integrity comprehension and attitudes by society members and the impact of activities need to be established in order to evaluate initiatives over time. 15 Such research could then help inform and guide planning and evaluation efforts by individual societies. Societies should consider forming consortiums and pooling resources in order to undertake such studies, perhaps initially as well designed, lowcost pilot studies.…”

“…The reasons for this are not obvious from the data collected. It may be due to inadequate resources or expertise available to the societies, unfamiliarity with existing models or methods for doing evaluation 15 and/or a not-yet acknowledged need that such evaluation would be productive. Whatever role the scientific societies adopt for establishing and reinforcing ethical norms among their members, whether it be education or enforcement of their ethics codes, without critical assessment of their efforts the question of how well they fulfill such a role is impossible to answer.…”

What Roles for Scientific Associations in Contemporary Science?

“…The role of scientific associations in establishing codes of conduct and ethics has often been discussed in a dedicated publication, the journal Science and Engineering Ethics (e.g. Bird 1998;Levine and Iutcovich 2003;Frankel and Bird 2003), as well as in other journals of a wider scope (see, for instance, Didier 1999;Bruhn et al 2002;Montgomery and Oliver 2009). A second strand of research concerns the role of associations in scientific publication, some of an historical nature (Ornstein 1928), others focusing on the challenge of digital and open access publishing (see, for instance, Doyle et al 2004;Gunnarsdottir 2005;Leslie 2007;Owen 2007).…”

The role of scientific associations in promoting research integrity and deterring research misconduct

“…The effect that disciplinary societies have on their members' behavior in ethical matters is, as Levine and Iutcovich 4 suggest, an open question. (For more discussion of societies' influence on members' behavior, see Iverson, Frankel and Siang.…”