This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

Readings

The American Association of Medical Colleges. Teaching the Responsible Conduct of Research Through a Case Study Approach. Washington, DC: American Association of Medical Colleges, 1994.
A Collection of a large number of case studies.

Beveridge, W. I. B. The Art of Scientific Investigation. 3rd ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1957.

Chalk, Rosemary. Science, Technology, and Society: Emerging Relationships. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1988.
Compiled a series of papers from Science magazines on ethics, scientific freedom, social responsibility, and a number of other topics.

Cole, Stephen. Making Science: Between Nature and Society. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992.
The author analyzes and critiques some of the more modern work in the sociology of science.

Colomb, Gregory G., and Joseph M. Williams. "Perceiving structure in professional prose: a multiply determined experience." In Writing in Non-Academic Settings. Edited by Lee Odell, and Dixie Goswami. Guilford Press, 1985, pp. 87-128.

Edsall, John T. Scientific Freedom and Responsibility. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1975.
This report remains an important statement on the social obligations of scientists in the modern world.

Ethics, Values, and the Promise of Science. Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, Research Triangle Park, N. C., 1993.
Proceedings of a 1992 forum held by Sigma Xi, contains a number of interesting papers on ethical scientific conduct.

Feibelman, Peter J. A Ph.D. Is Not Enough: A Guide to Survival in Science. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1993.
Insightful book offering advice for researchers about succeeding in a scientific career.

Fienberg, Stephen E., Margaret E. Martin, and Miron L. Straf. eds. Sharing Research Data. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1985.
Lays out general principles to govern the sharing of research results and the materials used in research.

Gopen, George D. The Common Sense of Writing: Teaching Writing from the Reader's Perspective. 1990. (To be published.)

------. "Let the buyer in ordinary course of business beware: suggestions for revising the language of the Uniform Commercial Code." University of Chicago Law Review 54 (1987): 1178-1214.

 

Gopen, George D., and Judith A. Swan. "The Science of Scientific Writing." American Scientist 78 (Nov-Dec 1990): 550-558.

Grinnell, Frederick. The Scientific Attitude. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford Press, 1992.
Has a chapter on scientific misconduct.

Headquarters United States Air Force. "The Roswell Report." 1994.
Executive Summary of the General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation of an event popularly known as the "Roswell Incident."

Holton, Gerald. "On Doing One's Damnedest: The Evolution of Trust in Scientific Findings." Chap. 7 in Einstein, History, and Other Passions. New York: American Institute of Physics, 1994.

------. Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein. Revised Edition, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988, Chaps. 1, and 12.
The thematic presuppositions of scientists and the integrity of science.

Huizenga, John R. Cold Fusion: The Scientific Fiasco of the Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
The story of cold fusion is well told in this article.

Hull, David. Science as Process: An Evolutionary Account of the Social and Conceptual Development of Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988, Chaps. 8, 9, and 10.
The roles of recognition and credit in science are discussed here.

Institute of Medicine's Committee on the Responsible Conduct of Research. The Responsible Conduct of Research in the Health Sciences. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1989.
Examines institutional policies and procedures designed to strengthen the professional standards of academic research.

International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. "Washington File." Executive Summary of U.S. Commission on National Security Report. January 31, 2001.

Jackson, Ian C. Honor in Science. Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, Research Triangle Park, N. C., 1992.
A booklet offering "practical advice to those entering careers in scientific research."

Keller, Evelyn Fox. A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1983.

 

Klotz, Irving M. Diamond Dealers and Feather Merchants: Tales from the Sciences. Boston: Birkhauser, 1986.
A lively book that discusses several historic cases of self-deception in science.

Kohn, Alexander. False Prophets: Fraud and Error in Science and Medicine. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1988.
A number of case studies of misconduct and self-deception from the history of science and medicine.

Medawar, Peter B. Advice to a Young Scientist. New York: Harper and Row, 1979.
The author addresses the concerns of beginning researchers.

Merton, Robert K. The Sociology of Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973.
A collection of many pioneering essays.

The NOVA program. Do Scientists Cheat? (Audiovisual materials).

Oliver, Jack E. The Incomplete Guide to the Art of Discovery. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991.

Panel on Scientific Responsibility and the Conduct of Research under the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. Responsible Science: Ensuring the Integrity of the Research Process. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1992.
Presents a thorough analysis of scientific misconduct.

------. Responsible Science: Ensuring the Integrity of the Research Process. Vol. 2. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1993.
Contains a number of background papers, a selection of guidelines for the conduct of research, and examples of specific research policies and procedures for handling allegations of misconduct in science.

Penslar, Robin Levin, ed. Research Ethics: Cases and Materials. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994.
Contains a number of extended case studies as well as essays on various aspects of research ethics.

Sindermann, Carl J. The Joy of Science. New York: Plenum Publishers, 1985.

"The Science of Scientific Writing." American Scientist 78 (Nov-Dec 1990): 550-558.

Taubes, Gary. Bad Science: The Short Life & Hard Times of Cold Fusion. New York: Random House, 1993.

Teich, Albert H., and Mark S. Frankel. Good Science and Responsible Scientists: Meeting the Challenge of Fraud and Misconduct in Science. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1991.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Bar Association have jointly issued several publications on issues of scientific ethics.

Whitbeck, Caroline. Understanding Ethical Problems in Engineering Practice and Research. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Examines issues of professional ethics (such as the engineer's or chemist's responsibility for safety) and research ethics.

Williams, Joseph M. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Scott, Foresman, and Co.

Wilson, E. Bright. An Introduction to Scientific Research. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1952.
An early but still excellent book on experimental and statistical methods for data reduction.

Ziman, John. An Introduction to Science Studies: The Philosophical and Social Aspects of Science and Technology. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
A broad overview of the philosophy, sociology, politics, and psychology of science.

------. Prometheus Bound: Science in a Dynamic Steady State. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Many the changes going on in contemporary science.

Zuckerman, Harriet. "Deviant Behavior and Social Control in Science." In Deviance and Social Change. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1977.
A thorough, scholarly analysis of scientific misconduct.