Sherry's Secret
Part 1
Sherry is a doctoral student in the lab of Dr. Buddy Norman.
Her dissertation research is near completion when Norman asks
her to begin writing a paper for publication. When she shows
him what she has written, he asks for a copy of her disk, which
includes her unfinished manuscript and data. "How much longer
will it take you to complete the experiments and write your
conclusions?" he asks. "About two to three months," she
replies.
A couple of months later, Sherry arrives early in Norman's
office for a progress meeting and sees a manuscript acceptance
notice on his desk. Peeking at the slip of paper, she sees that
it refers to her work. She is shocked, since her research is
incomplete. She decides not to say anything, thinking that Dr.
Norman will bring it up. He doesn't.
Later that night, Sherry looks for the manuscript on
Norman's desk. She finds a completed document describing the
experiment that she is working on, with positive results and a
suspicious looking graph. She decides to confront her professor
on the apparent fabrication of data. Although the results
reported in the graph are consistent with what she has found
and expects to find, they dishonestly report results that she
does not have.
Sherry confronts Norman the next day. She demands that the
paper be recalled. He replies that the paper has already been
accepted and is probably in press by now. He tells her that she
is listed as first author and that submitting a retraction at
this point would look very bad, affecting her career as well as
his.
Norman goes on to say that the lab has been waiting for a
breakthrough for a long time. The grant that pays the salaries
of the technicians and other students is up for renewal soon.
(Sherry has independent funding.) He explains that he is
confident that her research will pan out. All he did was
extrapolate a line and write the conclusions, submitting the
article a little early. Without this publication, there is
almost no chance for his grant to be renewed, and the lab would
have to be shut down.
Discussion Questions
- Should Sherry attempt to recall the paper? Or should she
say nothing and hope that her research backs up Norman's
"predictions"? What is the ethical thing for her to do?
- If Sherry decides to retract the paper, would you
classify her action as "whistle-blowing"? What effect could
that have on her career as a fledgling scientist?
- What ethical issues are raised by Norman's actions? The
fabrication of data aside, is it within his rights to
complete Sherry's manuscript and submit it?
A possible conclusion would be for Sherry to contact the
editor of the journal, stating that she has found an error in
her figure. She could ask that the journal postpone publishing
the paper until the problem is resolved. This option might
allow Sherry to avoid ruining Norman's career -- and her
own.
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Part 2
Sherry decides that "whistle-blowing" could sink her and the
whole lab, and that the livelihood of her co-workers is more
important than a few data points that may prove to be correct
after all. She urgently works to finish her research. If
Norman's extrapolations are sound, she will say nothing. If
they are incorrect, she is in big trouble, as her data won't be
reproducible. However, she feels that enough time will pass
between publication and graduation for her to advance on to her
post-doc before any questions could arise over the validity of
the paper's conclusions. She will just keep quiet for now and
hope for the best.
Discussion Questions
- What are the ethical stumbling blocks in Sherry's
reasoning?
- How would you approach a solution based on the
facts?
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Part 3
With a sigh of relief, Sherry sits back and looks at the
graph she has constructed from her finished data. It is almost
identical to the figure in the journal in front of her, open to
her article. Norman's grant has been renewed, and she is making
plans for defending and moving to Indiana for her post-doc.
Kirchoff, a former student visiting from Russia, walks in
and peers over her shoulder. "Why are you comparing data?" he
asks. When he takes a closer look, he notices that the author
is Sherry, and his face clouds. "Oh. Very bad. Very bad."
Sherry sees his look of recognition.
After questioning Kirchoff, she learns that Norman had
fabricated data of other students, who felt powerless to stop
him. Sherry contacts those others, who confirm Kirchoff's
claim.
Discussion Questions
- What should Sherry do now, in light of this new
information?
- If Sherry reports Norman, do you think she should also be
accused of misconduct? Why or why not?
- What are Sherry's obligations to the new students in the
lab?