BME / IHE 6010
Engineering Ethics
(Academic Integrity)
Dave Kender - March 22, 2016
Lecture adapted from
Meg Wiltshire’s PowerPoint Presentation
Outline
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Course Information
Syllabus, Schedule, Course Overview
www.cs.wright.edu/~dkender
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Learning Objectives
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Course Rationale
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Engineering Ethics
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Academic Integrity (Plagiarism)
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Guest Speakers - Fall 2014
Course Learning Objectives
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Define: academic integrity, plagiarism, fair use
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Explain the importance of ethics and integrity in engineering and research
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Compare and contrast ethical behavior and legal behavior
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Express the WSU Academic Integrity Policy
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Describe the relationship between the graduate student and their advisor
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Locate and use research tools available to WSU graduate students
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Explain the thesis and dissertation preparation process
Course Rationale
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ABET ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology) mandates that discussions regarding ethics be
included in the engineering curriculum
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Cheating and plagiarism has become a major problem at
many universities
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WSU has not been exempt from the problem
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There are a variety of reasons for the problem
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The best way to avoid problems is to educate students about
the problem and clearly identify good and bad practices
General Definition of Ethics
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The study of the characteristics of morals
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The study of the moral choices made by each person
in his or her relationships with other persons
Reference: Engineering Ethics by Fleddermann
Engineering Ethics
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The rules and standards which govern the conduct of engineers
in their role as professionals
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Engineering ethics are similar to general ethics, but apply to the
specific issues which affect engineering professionals
Reference: Engineering Ethics by Fleddermann
Ethics in Research
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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
Publication Violations
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Faking research data – 0.3%
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Plagiarism – 1.4%
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Removing data – 6%
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Multiple publications of the same data – 4.7%
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Inappropriate inclusion of authors – 10%
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Changed a study design – 15%
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Inadequate record keeping – 27.5%
From 3247 respondents of 8000 surveyed
Reference: Ethics in Scientific Research by Budinger and Budinger
Scientific Misconduct
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Fabrication is making up data or results and
recording or reporting them
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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
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Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s
ideas, processes, results, or words without giving
proper credit.
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Research misconduct does not include honest error
or differences of opinion
Reference: Ethics in Scientific Research by Budinger and Budinger
Researcher Unethical Conduct
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Cover-up of errors
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Misuse of funds
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Fabrication of data
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Deletion of data without
justification
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Falsification of data
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Making major protocol deviations
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Unorthodox manipulation of data
during data analysis
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Performance of inappropriate
statistical analysis
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Knowingly performing or
participating in unauthorized
experiments
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Misrepresentation or purposeful
exclusion of relevant data from
others
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Misrepresentation of originality of
ideas, writings, software and
hardware – plagiarism
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Failing to report wrongs when
there is a responsibility to do so
Reference: Ethics in Scientific Research by Budinger and Budinger
Plagiarism
“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
Costs of Plagiarism
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Viewed as a shameful act, one from a dishonest person
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Violates WSU Academic Integrity policy and can result in an
“F” for the paper or course, expulsion and revocation of degree
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Loss of the opportunity for the student to learn
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Loss of pride in the effort to receive a degree
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Lowers the value of degrees earned by others
Causes of Plagiarism
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Accidental - Poor note taking/documentation
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Belief that minor word changes constitutes your own work
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Peer pressure from friends/students/community
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Poor time management
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Writing in a second language and worrying about grammar
You have plagiarized if
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Your notes fail to distinguish summary and/or paraphrase
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You copy and paste from the web without enclosing in quotes
and citing the source
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You presented facts without citing where they were found
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You repeated or paraphrased another’s work w/o citation
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You took another’s unique phrase without citing
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You paraphrased someone’s ideas without citing
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You bought or obtained a paper written by another and
handed it in as your own.
Reference: MLA Handbook, Chapter 2, page 75
Writing Assignment #1
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www.TurnItIn.com
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Due Wednesday, September 16, 2015
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Finis !
Guest Speakers - Fall 2014
Dr. Nathan Klingbeil
Dr. Phani Kidambi
Dr. Gary Dickstein
Dr. Leo Finkelstein
Dr. Joseph Slater
Phil Flynn
Alysoun Taylor-Hall
Dave Kender
Dean's Perspectives
Student Success
Student Conduct
Plagiarism
LaTex
Library Resources
Thesis / Dissertation Tools
Engineering Ethics