The "how" and "whys" of research: life scientists' views of accountability.
J Med Ethics
; 35(12): 762-7, 2009 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19948933
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate life scientists' views of accountability and the ethical and societal implications of research.DESIGN:
Qualitative focus group and one-on-one interviews.PARTICIPANTS:
45 Stanford University life scientists, including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty.RESULTS:
Two main themes were identified in participants' discussions of accountability (1) the "how" of science and (2) the "why" of science. The "how" encompassed the internal conduct of research including attributes such as honesty and independence. The "why," or the motivation for conducting research, was two-tiered first was the desire to positively impact the research community and science itself, and second was an interest in positively impacting the external community, broadly referred to as society. Participants noted that these motivations were influenced by the current systems of publications, grants and funding, thereby supporting a complex notion of boundary-setting between science and non-science. In addition, while all participants recognised the "how" of science and the two tiers of "why," scientists expressed the need to prioritise these domains of accountability. This prioritisation was related to a researcher's position in the academic career trajectory and to the researcher's subsequent "perceived proximity" to scientific or societal concerns. Our findings therefore suggest the need for institutional change to inculcate early-stage researchers with a broader awareness of the implications of their research. The peer review processes for funding and publication could be effective avenues for encouraging scientists to broaden their views of accountability to society.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Pesquisadores
/
Responsabilidade Social
/
Revisão da Pesquisa por Pares
/
Pesquisa Biomédica
/
Relações Interprofissionais
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Med Ethics
Ano de publicação:
2009
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos