untitled

research setting, but these are addressed

through other laws and regulations and are

not considered scientific misconduct (e.g.,

theft, harassment, and discrimination).

Prevention Strategies

Some believe that if staff or colleagues want

to dupe you, they will. This is not necessari-

ly true; prevention can work. Simply let

your staff and partners know that you per-

sonally verify data and any corrections.

Then do it, and let them see you doing it.

Ask questions about stray marks or era-

sures. If electronic data are written over or

corrected, find out why. The expectation of

monitoring lets potential fabricators know

that they are likely to be caught without

even mentioning misconduct.

Encourage the immediate entry of all

information into notebooks, and double

check data entered after a significant delay.

Discuss tardy write-ups with the team and

determine if the study should be repeated to

minimize selective recall or reporting of pro-

cedures or results.

Arrange a consultation with your institu-

tion’s computer expert to learn about data

security options for your lab. Explore mark-

ing electronic lab notebook entries with date,

time, and user identification. Regularly back-

up these and other electronic files, then date

and save the historic versions in a separate

secure area. These procedures protect you

against computer crashes and natural disas-

ters, as well as simultaneously providing a

data trail to discourage or document inappro-

priate changes. Consider limiting access to

certain electronic files so they may be read

and used, but not copied or altered. These

protections could avoid unauthorized

changes and distribution. Similarly, don’t let

staff members install idiosyncratic or undoc-

umented security options that could jeopard-

ize your appropriate access. If that team

member became incapacitated through ill-

ness or accident, you could be locked out of

your own files.

Not all labs are ready for electronic note-

books, so the old standby of using notebooks

with bound spines or binders with distinctive

paper can make the substitution of pages on

the sly very onerous. Careful individuals also

keep dated copies of these notebooks in a sec-

ond secure location.

Set a tone of respect for the research proto-

col. Avoid hyperbole and jokes about getting

the results no matter what. Someone could

confuse your humor with pressure to gener-

ate findings through falsification, skimping

on animal or biohazard protections, improp-

er analyses, or misleading interpretations of

results.

Inoculate staff against the temptation to

find a “better” way to run the study mid-

stream. Let them know you want to hear their

ideas for the next study, but that fidelity to

the current design is essential. Remind them

that the current design is the only one

approved by the institution’s animal care and

use committee. Explain what an unrecog-

nized or unreported shift in procedures does

to the study’s analysis and interpretation.

Someone could confuse your

humor with pressure to generate

findings.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 3 • SCIENTIFIC CITIZENSHIP 141

Let your staff and partners know

that you personally verify data

and any corrections. Then do it,

and let them see you doing it.