Johansen Mikkel Willum, Christiansen Frederik Voetmann
Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 3, 1350, Copenhagen K, Denmark.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2020 Apr;26(2):1107-1128. doi: 10.1007/s11948-020-00206-4. Epub 2020 Mar 12.
This paper presents and discusses empirical results from a survey about the research practice of Danish chemistry students, with a main focus on the question of anomalous data. It seeks to investigate how such data is handled by students, with special attention to so-called 'questionable research practices' (QRPs) where anomalous data are simply deleted or discarded. This question of QRPs is of particular importance as the educational practices students experience may influence how they act in their future professional careers, for instance in research. The ethical evaluation of QRPs however is not univocal. In parts of the literature QRPs are seen as unquestionably bad, while in other parts of the literature certain QRPs are seen as a necessary aspect of scientific practice. Results from the survey of Danish chemistry students shows that many students engage in certain types of questionable practices, and that a large minority of the students have been actively encouraged by their teachers to engage in such practices. The paper discusses to what extent and under what circumstances such instructional practices can be defended and suggests how the instructional practice connected to the handling of anomalous data can be improved.
本文展示并讨论了一项关于丹麦化学专业学生研究实践的调查的实证结果，主要聚焦于异常数据问题。它旨在调查学生如何处理此类数据，特别关注所谓的“可疑研究行为”（QRPs），即在这些行为中异常数据被简单地删除或丢弃。QRPs这个问题尤为重要，因为学生所经历的教育实践可能会影响他们未来职业生涯中的行为方式，例如在研究中。然而，对QRPs的伦理评估并非是明确的。在部分文献中，QRPs被视为毫无疑问是不好的，而在其他文献部分中，某些QRPs被视为科学实践的一个必要方面。对丹麦化学专业学生的调查结果表明，许多学生参与了某些类型的可疑行为，并且很大一部分学生受到他们老师的积极鼓励去参与此类行为。本文讨论了在何种程度以及在何种情况下这种教学实践可以得到辩护，并提出了如何改进与异常数据处理相关的教学实践。
