College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department of Biomedical, Industrial, and Human Factors Engineering

BME / IHE 6010Engineering Ethics

(Academic Integrity) Dave Kender - April 19, 2023

Lecture adapted fromMeg Wiltshire’s PowerPoint Presentation

Course Information Syllabus, Schedule, Course Overview www.cs.wright.edu/~dkender

Learning Objectives

Course Rationale

Engineering Ethics

Academic Integrity (Plagiarism)

Guest Speakers - Fall 2014

Outline

Define: academic integrity, plagiarism, fair use

Explain the importance of ethics and integrity in engineering and research

Compare and contrast ethical behavior and legal behavior

Express the WSU Academic Integrity Policy

Describe the relationship between the graduate student and their advisor

Locate and use research tools available to WSU graduate students

Explain the thesis and dissertation preparation process

Course Learning Objectives

ABET ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) mandates that discussions regarding ethics be included in the engineering curriculum

Cheating and plagiarism has become a major problem at many universities

WSU has not been exempt from the problem

There are a variety of reasons for the problem

The best way to avoid problems is to educate students about the problem and clearly identify good and bad practices

Course Rationale

The study of the characteristics of morals

The study of the moral choices made by each person in his or her relationships with other persons

Reference: Engineering Ethics by Fleddermann

General Definition of Ethics

The rules and standards which govern the conduct of engineers in their role as professionals

Engineering ethics are similar to general ethics, but apply to the specific issues which affect engineering professionals

Reference: Engineering Ethics by Fleddermann

Engineering Ethics

Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

Federal policy on Research Misconduct http://www.ostp.gov/html/001207_3.html

Reference: Ethics in Scientific Research by Budinger and Budinger

Ethics in Research

Faking research data – 0.3%

Plagiarism – 1.4%

Removing data – 6%

Multiple publications of the same data – 4.7%

Inappropriate inclusion of authors – 10%

Changed a study design – 15%

Inadequate record keeping – 27.5%

From 3247 respondents of 8000 surveyed

Reference: Ethics in Scientific Research by Budinger and Budinger

Publication Violations

Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them

Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record

Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving proper credit.

Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion

Reference: Ethics in Scientific Research by Budinger and Budinger

Scientific Misconduct

Cover-up of errors

Misuse of funds

Fabrication of data

Deletion of data without justification

Falsification of data

Making major protocol deviations

Unorthodox manipulation of data during data analysis

Performance of inappropriate statistical analysis

Knowingly performing or participating in unauthorized experiments

Misrepresentation or purposeful exclusion of relevant data from others

Misrepresentation of originality of ideas, writings, software and hardware – plagiarism

Failing to report wrongs when there is a responsibility to do so

Reference: Ethics in Scientific Research by Budinger and Budinger

Researcher Unethical Conduct

“The false assumption of ownership, the wrongful act of taking the product of another person’s mind, and presenting it as one’s own.”

Reference: MLA Handbook, Chapter 2, page 46

“An act of theft in which you steal another person’s idea or his or her expression of an idea, and then represent it as your own.”

Reference: Dr. Leo Finkelstein Jr., Pocket Book of Technical Writing

Plagiarism

Viewed as a shameful act, one from a dishonest person

Violates WSU Academic Integrity policy and can result in an “F” for the paper or course, expulsion and revocation of degree

Loss of the opportunity for the student to learn

Loss of pride in the effort to receive a degree

Lowers the value of degrees earned by others

Costs of Plagiarism

Accidental - Poor note taking/documentation

Belief that minor word changes constitutes your own work

Peer pressure from friends/students/community

Poor time management

Writing in a second language and worrying about grammar

Causes of Plagiarism

Your notes fail to distinguish summary and/or paraphrase

You copy and paste from the web without enclosing in quotes and citing the source

You presented facts without citing where they were found

You repeated or paraphrased another’s work w/o citation

You took another’s unique phrase without citing

You paraphrased someone’s ideas without citing

You bought or obtained a paper written by another and handed it in as your own.

Reference: MLA Handbook, Chapter 2, page 75

You have plagiarized if

Writing Assignment #1

www.TurnItIn.com

Due Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Finis !

Guest Speakers - Fall 2014 Dr. Nathan Klingbeil Dean's Perspectives Dr. Phani Kidambi Student Success Dr. Gary Dickstein Student Conduct Dr. Leo Finkelstein Plagiarism Dr. Joseph Slater LaTex Phil Flynn Library Resources Alysoun Taylor-Hall Thesis / Dissertation Tools Dave Kender Engineering Ethics