Group: 2
Within a three-person research team, a disagreement occurred regarding the proper
interpretation of the results. Because an agreement could not be reached, Smith made the
decision to publish independently. The other scientists in the team decided to wait until they
knew if Smith's study had been accepted. In the meantime, Smith changed institutions, but the
acceptance notification and manuscript number were faxed to the previous university, and Jones,
the former research partner, was made aware of it. Jones subsequently got in touch with the
journal, explained why Smith's work was flawed, and requested permission to submit an
alternative draft of the article.
Questions:
1- Who is being unethical in this situation?
2- Are Smith and Jones’ acts justified?
3- How could the situation have been handled?