Ethics in the Lab: A Workshop for Young Scientists on Scientific Misconduct and How to Avoid it

What is the relation between good successful research and ethical and responsible research? This workshop focuses on typical conflicts that particularly early career researchers may face in this context in a publish-or-perish culture. Is it ok if I ignore and leave out statistical “outliers” when presenting my research data in case they impact the overall results more than I would like? Is such data “massaging” already scientific misconduct? How transparent must research practice be, when at the same time one has to succeed in the competitive world of scientific research? How to respond when you notice academic misconduct by a colleague? How should you handle problematic expectations of your supervisor? In this workshop we discuss typical examples as well as participants’ experiences of conflicts arising in their own research work. The workshop provides general skills and knowledge of research ethics needed for scientists to address the questions raised above. Participants attain the skills to rationally reflect on their role as a scientist from an ethical standpoint, including the specific expectations that role involves in a broader social context. The workshop will show that successful research goes hand in hand with ethical and responsible research. The workshop is open to doctoral researchers and postdocs at KIT who are KHYS members. The workshop will be held in English.