Norman Edmund’s Educational Blog

(Note: I will be posting only once per week while doing the series on integrity.)
Fabrication involves violation of honesty, the basic feature of the integrity of the research process.
In this process the researcher deceives by making up results or altering actual results and reporting them in an effort to deceive everyone. In many ways it […]

Scientists have always been concerned about the integrity of the research process. This interest has increased now that the federal government has instituted more regulations about it. More information can be obtained by going to www.ostp.gov. From the site:
I. Research Misconduct Defined
Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing […]

The March 18, 2006 issue of New Scientist (page 7) has a news note that “journal editors and publishers are not doing enough to limit misconduct and fraud, according to a survey published by COPE, the U.K.s Committee on Public Ethics.”
It is difficult for editors to detect fraud, especially if the perpetrator is smart enough […]

Remember that the stages are the mental activity stages of the scientific method, often aided by physical activity. The stages are subject neutral. It is the supporting ingredients that are actually used at these stages to try to solve the problem.
Ingredient 12. Creative, Non-Logical, Logical, and Technical Methods. By encouraging the use of standard and […]

Stage 8 - Challenge the Hypothesis. This is a major self-correction feature. It requires careful research aided by testing and mathematics where possible. Not only do you accumulate evidence, but also attempt to falsify the hypothesis.
Stage 9 - Reach a Conclusion. This guides you to reach the best conclusion or solution based “on the evidence […]

Stage 1 - Curious Observation. Encourages a researcher to use all his or her senses and consider all angles.
Stage 2 - Is There a Problem? Presenting a question rather than a statement guides thinking in a skeptical rather than definite direction. Encourages proper definition of problems.
Stage 3 - Goals and Planning. Requires quality work rather […]

The integrity of science is based on the method of science, for science is its method, and this constitutes the research process. It is the route to scientifically valid research.
If we understand the stages and ingredients of the scientific method and have a standard formula for them, it is much easier to teach and investigate […]

From The Search by C.P. Snow:
“The only ethical principle which has made science possible is that the truth shall be told all the time. If we do not penalise false statements made in error, we open up the way, don’t you see, for false statements by intention. And of course a false statement of fact, […]

The integrity of the research process and the use of the scientific method are subjects of increased importance and interest. For a while, I will discuss various aspects of integrity in my daily blog.
Today we have a very competitive situation for government and foundation grants. This puts a great deal of pressure on researchers. Human […]

An article with this title appeared the January 8, 1956 issue of This Week The Sunday Magazine, a publication included in newspapers. It impressed me so much I had the page framed and hung it on my office wall in Barrington, N.J. I still have it on the wall of my Fort Lauderdale office. […]