On Being a Scientist will provide you with an overview of scientific practice, what it means to be a scientist and allows you to become acquainted with academic conduct, thus meeting a demand for increased awareness in scientific integrity. This course is designed to inform you on topics as scientific integrity and social responsibilities of scientists. Broad questions, which are inseparably linked to these topics are discussed: namely regarding the nature of science and the societal role it fulfills. Course objectives: After this course you will: 1) Understand the basic principles of science, and know what is "not done". 2) Have a realistic image of science and scientists. 3) Recognize integrity dilemmas, know how to respond in clear cases, and have the skills to respond prudently in unclear cases. 4) Know and understand the differences and similarities of various disciplines. 5) Have a basic understanding of the role of science in society, realise your own societal responsibilities, and are able to take a position in societal issues where science plays a role. The course consists of a feature film, supported by short lectures, set to serve as a starting point for the discussions and assignments.
This module discusses the three main types of scientific misconduct or fraud: plagiarism, and the falsification and fabrication of research data.
the following three types of conduct are widely agreed to be fraudulent.
results, and plagiarism, or presenting as one's own, the work of another.
In fact, we all know that we should not lie, cheat, or steal.
Rebecca used a phrase identical to death in a dissertation of Descartes.
There is no acknowledgement or citation, and there are no quotation marks.
given the fact that she did not copy the phrase from the original source.
as Descartes had dictated the sentence to her without mentioning his dissertation.
also a widespread problem in the academic world.
ranging in the case of students from a fail for course to expulsion.
provide that teachers with plagiarism detection software for student work.
Nonetheless, plagiarism is still rampant.
Some teachers simply do not use the available methods.
Moreover, there are ways to elude detection software.
that many students fail to understand the concept and scope of plagiarism.
If you don't understand it, you don't know how to avoid it.
So let us look at a useful definition.
paraphrasing a source in a form that stays too close to the original.
Plagiarism is a much broader category than many people tend to think.
to be able to retrace the sources of their information.
indenting when you use the exact words from a source.
how to cite them including all the relevant bibliographic details.
Without proper citation, a paraphrase can also be seen as plagiarism.
it may be hard to decide whether some piece of information is common knowledge.
there is no need to cite the source.
you do need to refer to your source.
The golden rule is, to side sources whenever you are in doubt.
collaborator as is only namely If only by accepting a price for their joint work.
the main credits for the work of her or his team.
In general, intellectual property is a rather tricky thing.
and read lots of papers, it is often hard to assess the true source of an idea.
complex process, that involved many contributions from several scientists.
science has become teamwork, rather than a matter of individual achievement.
and could have been more generous in acknowledging that contribution.
one should honor the work of one's colleagues.