CASE STUDY 1

Thirty six year old Johnson was in his last semester of his graduate program in Civil engineering. Father of two small children, he was anxious to get his degree so that he could spend more time with his family. Going to school and holding down a full-time job not only kept him from his family but also shifted more parental responsibility to his wife Julie but also the end was in sight, and he could look forward both to a better job and to being a better father and husband.

Johnson was following in the footsteps of his father, who received a graduate degree in chemical engineering just months before his 60th birthday! Julie understood how important getting a graduate degree was to Johnson, and she never complained about the long hours he spent studying. But she, too, was anxious for this chapter in their lives to end.

As part of his requirement to complete his graduate research and obtain his advanced degree, Johnson was required to develop a research report. Most of the data strongly supported Johnson’s conclusions as well as prior conclusions developed by others. However, a few aspects of the data were at variance and not fully consistent with the conclusions contained in his report. Convinced of the soundness of his report and concerned that inclusions of the ambiguous data would detract from and distort the essential thrust of the report, Johnson wondered if it would be all right to omit references to the ambiguous data.

In this case, it seems clear why Johnson is tempted to omit references to the ambiguous data. He is understandably anxious to graduate and move on to other challenges in his professional life. He is worried that full disclosure of his findings could slow down this process that has imposed a heavy burden on his family.

Questions:

a. Is it right for Johnson to omit reference to the data? Can the omission of the data be deceptive even when there is no intention to deceive?

b. Will Johnson’s actions have any implications for future researchers?

c. What are the relevant kinds of ethical considerations (Code of ethics) that should be brought to bear on the situation?