A Qualitative Approach to Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training Development: Identification of Metacognitive Strategies

Although Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is common in the sciences, the effectiveness of RCR training is open to question. Three key factors appear to be particularly important in ensuring the effectiveness of ethics education programs: (1) educational efforts should be tied to day-to-day practices in the field, (2) educational efforts should provide strategies for working through the ethical problems people are likely to encounter in day-to-day practice, and (3) educational efforts should be embedded in a broader program of on-going career development efforts. This article discusses a complex qualitative approach to RCR training development, based on a sensemaking model, which strives to address the afore-mentioned training concerns. Ethnographic observations and prior RCR training served the purpose of collecting information specific to a multi-disciplinary and multi-university research center with the goal of identifying metacognitive reasoning strategies that would facilitate ethical decision-making. The extensive qualitative analyses resulted in the identification of nine metacognitive reasoning strategies on which future RCR training will be developed. The implications of the findings for RCR training in the sciences are discussed.

[1]  Ken Parry,et al.  Identifying paradox: A grounded theory of leadership in overcoming resistance to change , 2004 .

[2]  A. Tversky,et al.  Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases , 1974, Science.

[3]  Henriikka Clarkeburn,et al.  Impact of an Ethics Programme in a Life Sciences Curriculum , 2002 .

[4]  M. Clapham.  Ideational Skills Training: A Key Element in Creativity Training Programs , 1997 .

[5]  P. Friedman,et al.  A pilot study of biomedical trainees' perceptions concerning research ethics , 1992, Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

[6]  Barry Turner,et al.  THE USE OF GROUNDED THEORY FOR THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR , 1983 .

[7]  Mary Brabeck,et al.  Integrating Care and Justice Issues in Professional Moral Education: A Gender Perspective. , 1987 .

[8]  G. Geller,et al.  Talking about cases in bioethics: the effect of an intensive course on health care professionals , 2000, Journal of medical ethics.

[9]  Kenneth D. Butterfield,et al.  A Review of The Empirical Ethical Decision-Making Literature: 1996–2003 , 2005 .

[10]  P. Tereskerz,et al.  Research Accountability and Financial Conflicts of Interest in Industry Sponsored Clinical Research: A Review , 2003, Accountability in research.

[11]  O. C. Ferrell,et al.  A Contingency Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Marketing , 1985 .

[12]  Julie L. Swann,et al.  Engineering Ethical Curricula: Assessment and Comparison of Two Approaches , 2005 .

[13]  Naresh R. Pandit.  The creation of theory: A recent application of the grounded theory method , 1996 .

[14]  A. Strauss,et al.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. , 1992 .

[15]  Carolyn L. Funk,et al.  Effectiveness of Responsible Conduct of Research Instruction: Initial Findings , 2004 .

[16]  Heidi S.C.A. MuijenHeidi.  Corporate Social Responsibility Starts at University , 2004 .

[17]  Harald Schaub,et al.  Errors in Planning and Decision‐making and the Nature of Human Information Processing , 1994 .

[18]  S. L. Star,et al.  Social science, technical systems, and cooperative work: beyond the great divide , 1999 .

[19]  K. Weick.  FROM SENSEMAKING IN ORGANIZATIONS , 2021, The New Economic Sociology.

[20]  Michael J. Kavanagh,et al.  Applying Trained Skills on the Job: The Importance of the Work Environment , 1995 .

[21]  Randi L. Sims,et al.  Determinants of Ethical Decision Making: The Relationship of the Perceived Organizational Environment , 1999 .

[22]  James C. Wimbush,et al.  The Effect of Cognitive Moral Development and Supverisory Influence on Subordinates' Ethical Behavior , 1999 .

[23]  M. Mumford,et al.  Conceptual Combination: Alternative Knowledge Structures, Alternative Heuristics , 2005 .

[24]  Shane Connelly,et al.  A Sensemaking Approach to Ethics Training for Scientists: Preliminary Evidence of Training Effectiveness , 2008, Ethics & behavior.

[25]  A. Strauss,et al.  Grounded theory methodology: An overview. , 1994 .

[26]  Donald L. Adolphson,et al.  A New Perspective on Ethics, Ecology, and Economics , 2004 .

[27]  S. Key.  Organizational Ethical Culture: Real or Imagined? , 1999 .

[28]  D. Kahneman,et al.  Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment , 2002 .

[29]  P. Slovic,et al.  The affect heuristic , 2007, European Journal of Operational Research.

[30]  Cynthia de las Fuentes,et al.  Competency Training in Ethics Education and Practice. , 2005 .

[31]  H. Simon,et al.  How to Study Thinking in Everyday Life: Contrasting Think-Aloud Protocols With Descriptions and Explanations of Thinking , 1998 .

[32]  E. Fromm,et al.  The Changing Engineering Educational Paradigm , 2003 .

[33]  Irwin L. Goldstein,et al.  Training in organizations: Needs assessment, development, and evaluation , 1986 .

[34]  James P. Walsh,et al.  Doing a deal: Merger and acquisition negotiations and their impact upon target company top management turnover , 1989 .

[35]  M. Mumford,et al.  The effectiveness of creativity training: A quantitative review , 2004 .

[36]  Barney G. Glaser,et al.  Doing Grounded Theory , 1998 .

[37]  A. Tversky,et al.  Weighing Risk and Uncertainty , 1995 .

[38]  Chen-Fong Wu.  A Study of the Adjustment of Ethical Recogntion and Ethical Decision-Making of Managers-to-be Across the Taiwan Strait Before and After Receiving a Business Ethics Education , 2003 .

[39]  Mark A. Runco,et al.  Problem Finding, Problem Solving, and Creativity , 1994 .

[40]  Robert W. Weisberg,et al.  Problem solving and creativity , 1988 .

[41]  David B. Resnik,et al.  From Baltimore to Bell Labs: Reflections on Two Decades of Debate about Scientific Misconduct , 2003, Accountability in research.

[42]  Goslin,et al.  Handbook of socialization theory and research , 1969 .

[43]  Roni Reiter-Palmon,et al.  Effects of Solution Elicitation Aids and Need for Cognition on the Generation of Solutions to Ill-Structured Problems , 2003 .

[44]  Mark A. Runco,et al.  Critical creative processes , 2003 .

[45]  M J Bebeau,et al.  The impact of a dental ethics curriculum on moral reasoning. , 1994, Journal of dental education.

[46]  R. Ford,et al.  Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature , 1994 .

[47]  L. Ferrell,et al.  A Review of Empirical Studies Assessing Ethical Decision Making in Business , 2000 .

[48]  B. Glaser.  Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis: Emergence Vs. Forcing , 1992 .

[49]  Thomas Lickona,et al.  Moral development and behavior : theory, research, and social issues , 1976 .

[50]  N. Denzin,et al.  Handbook of Qualitative Research , 1994 .

[51]  Marisa Salanova,et al.  Studying radical organizational innovation through grounded theory , 2000 .

[52]  Kristian J. Hammond,et al.  Case-based planning: A framework for planning from experience ☆ , 1990 .

[53]  K. Okkenhaug,et al.  Integrity in Scientific Research: Creating an Environment that Promotes Responsible Conduct , 2003, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[54]  M. Mumford,et al.  Creativity syndrome: Integration, application, and innovation. , 1988 .

[55]  Dilek Önkal,et al.  Professional vs Amateur Judgment Accuracy: The Case of Foreign Exchange Rates , 2003 .

[56]  Shane Connelly,et al.  A Managerial In-Basket Study of the Impact of Trait Emotions on Ethical Choice , 2004 .

[57]  M. Bebeau,et al.  Designing an outcome-based ethics curriculum for professional education: strategies and evidence of effectiveness. , 1993, Journal of moral education.

[58]  M. Mumford.  Pathways to Outstanding Leadership: A Comparative Analysis of Charismatic, Ideological, and Pragmatic Leaders , 2006 .

[59]  Arthur P. Brief,et al.  Research in Organizational Behavior: An Annual Series of Analytical Essays and Critical Reviews , 2003 .

[60]  B. Turner,et al.  Grounded Theory and Organizational Research , 1986 .

[61]  P. Bourdieu.  In Other Words , 1990 .

[62]  Michael D. Mumford,et al.  Problem construction and cognition: Applying problem representations in ill-defined domains. , 1994 .

[63]  C. Deutch,et al.  A Course in Research Ethics for Graduate Students. , 1996 .

[64]  Susan J. Harrington,et al.  A Test of a Person -- Issue Contingent Model of Ethical Decision Making in Organizations , 1997 .

[65]  Donald P. Robin,et al.  Some initial steps toward improving the measurement of ethical evaluations of marketing activities , 1988 .

[66]  P. Werhane.  Moral Imagination and Systems Thinking , 2002 .

[67]  Ronald R. Sims,et al.  Changing an Organization's Culture Under New Leadership , 2000 .

[68]  B. Glaser.  Theoretical Sensitivity: Advances in the Methodology of Grounded Theory , 1978 .

[69]  R. L. Dominowski,et al.  Metacognition and problem solving : A process-oriented approach. , 1995 .

[70]  John Kohls,et al.  The challenge of global ethics , 1991 .

[71]  M. Anthony Machin,et al.  Planning, managing, and optimizing transfer of training , 2002 .

[72]  J. Haidt.  The emotional dog and its rational tail: a social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. , 2001, Psychological review.

[73]  Raymond M. Lee,et al.  Doing Research on Sensitive Topics , 1993 .

[74]  Pierre Bourdieu,et al.  Outline of a Theory of Practice , 2020, On Violence.

[75]  Robert K. Kazanjian,et al.  Multilevel Theorizing about Creativity in Organizations: A Sensemaking Perspective , 1999 .

[76]  H. Weiss,et al.  Affective Events Theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work. , 1996 .

[77]  L. Kohlberg.  Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization , 1969 .

[78]  Mariam Al-Jalahma,et al.  Teaching medical ethics: implementation and evaluation of a new course during residency training in bahrain. , 2004, Education for health.

[79]  L. Treviño.  Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model , 1986 .

[80]  Mark S. Davis,et al.  The Role of Culture in Research Misconduct , 2003, Accountability in research.

[81]  S. Coughlin,et al.  Ethics instruction at schools of public health in the United States. Association of Schools of Public Health Education Committee. , 1999, American journal of public health.

[82]  Max R. Uhlemann,et al.  Effects of the problem-solving approach in ethics training. , 1992 .

[83]  T. Jones.  Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model , 1991 .

[84]  Wayne F. Cascio,et al.  Applied Psychology in Human Resource Management , 1998 .

[85]  Michael D. Mumford,et al.  Picking the right material: Cognitive processing skills and their role in creative thought. , 2003 .