Integrity versus misconduct: learning the difference between right and wrong

Abstract

This article compares the concepts of scientific misconduct and scientific integrity as a basis for policy guidance, focusing on their relevance for educating scientists. It argues for preferring the concept of integrity, on the grounds that integrity promises positive guidance regarding good conduct in science, while misconduct only identifies prohibited behavior. Integrity provides better guidance for deliberating about what good conduct is in particular circumstances, and it draws upon a motivational source for encouraging good conduct that misconduct ignores. The article also discusses the inherent limitations of appealing to academic freedom as the grounds for protecting scientific practice from unwarranted intrusions. Finally, it explores the educational implications of how professional ethics in science might be conceived in terms of the idea of integrity, including both the merits and the challenges of such an approach.