This unit explores ethical concerns in using, sharing, and preserving research data. Because research receives support in various ways from the academic community and broader society, researchers have a duty to advance the research community, meet practical social needs, and educate the public. One way to fulfill this duty is to disseminate one’s discovery and research data, but sharing of research data should follow intellectual property laws and relevant institutional policies. Open access publishing provides one way to share one’s discovery broadly for free. Finally, to maximize the value of existing data, research leaders should take care to preserve and secure data for future use.
References
ASCE. 2016. “Code of Ethics.” http://www.asce.org/code-of-ethics/.
Coulehan, Meghan B., and Jonathan F. Wells. 2006. “Guidelines for Responsible Data Management in Scientific Research.” https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwVuBK4FRW2zLWRuV2Q1aXBJTW8/edit?usp=sharing.
Finley, Klint. 2015. “VW’s Cheating Proves We Must Open Up the Internet of Things.” Wired. https://www.wired.com/2015/09/volkswagen-open-iot/.
Fischer, Eric A. 2013. “Public Access to Data from Federally Funded Research: Provisions in OMB Circular A-110.” Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/R42983.pdf.
Geller, Lisa. 2010. “Data Management in Academic Settings: An Intellectual Property Perspective.” Science and Engineering Ethics 16 (4): 769–75.
National Research Council (NRC). 2002. Access to Research Data in the 21st Century: An Ongoing Dialogue Among Interested Parties. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
NSF Engineering Directorate. 2017. “Data Management for NSF Engineering Directorate Proposals and Awards.” https://nsf.gov/eng/general/ENG_DMP_Policy.pdf.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. 2006. “The Risks of Metadata.” https://www.priv.gc.ca/media/2389/02_05_d_30_e.pdf.
Oracle. 2007. “The Risks of Metadata and Hidden Information: Analysis of Microsoft Office Files from the Web Sites of the Fortune 100.” http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/testcontent/stellent-wp-metadatarisks-0307-134347.pdf.
Rozier, Kristin Yvonne, and Eric W D Rozier. 2014. “Reproducibility, Correctness, and Buildability: The Three Principles for Ethical Public Dissemination of Computer Science and Engineering Research.” In Proceedings of IEEE International Symposium on Ethics in Science, Technology and Engineering.
Timmermans, Job, Bernd Carsten Stahl, Veikko Ikonen, and Engin Bozdag. 2010. “The Ethics of Cloud Computing: A Conceptual Review.” In Proceedings of International Conference on Cloud Computing Technology and Science.
USPTO. 2015. “General Information Concerning Patents.” http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/general-information-concerning-patents#heading-2.
USPTO. 2016. “Copyright Basics.” https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ip-policy/copyright/copyright-basics.
USPTO. 2017. “Trade Secret Policy.” http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/international-protection/trade-secret-policy.
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