Research Ethics Seminar Series
The RESS is designed for faculty and students to discuss ethical issues and challenges in the conduct of research and
scholarship. This semester, a panel of faculty and a post doctoral fellow will address issues of responsible approaches
to the design, implementation and dissemination of research. Contact Dena Plemmons at 619-594-2309 for more information.
PAST LECTURES:
FALL 2007
This series included a four member panel of faculty in residence. The panelists were: Dr. Stuart Henry, Professor
and Director, School of Public Affairs; Dr. Paul Sargent, Associate Professor, Sociology; Dr. Deboleena Roy, Assistant
Professor, Women's Studies; and Dr. Samantha Orchard, Post-Doctoral Scholar, Biology. Discussions covered a range of issues
in research ethics, including what research ethics means, and what our responsibilities are as scientists to the public.
April 18, 2007
"Plagiarism"
Dr. Jessica Barlow, School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, SDSU
Dr. Karen May-Newman, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SDSU
March 14, 2007
"The Social Respondibility of Science and Scientists"
Dr. Stanley Maloy, Dean, College of Sciences, SDSU
Dr. Michael Kalichman, Director, Research Ethics Program, University of California San Diego (UCSD)
February 21, 2007
"Ethical Approaches and the Relationship to Research Ethics"
Dr.Darrel Moellendorf, Department of Philosophy, SDSU
December 6, 2006
"Collaborative Relationships"
Dr. Ramona Perez, Latin American Studies
Dr. Beverly Wulfeck, SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program, School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Dr. Greg Harris, Department of Biology
Dr. Simon Marshall, Exercise and Nutritional Sciences
The panelists discussed ethical and practical issues involved in collaborative relationships within and between
departments, between the academy and industry, and with community partners.
November 8, 2006
"Mentoring/Student Panel"
Samantha Orchard, Ph.D, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Biology
Carlos Bazan, Ph.D student, Computational Sciences
Jessica Plotner, MA student, Linguistics
The two graduate students and one post-doctoral researcher addressed issues of mentoring --what was helpful in
their move from one status to another, were their needs and expectations of their mentors different? Were the
mentor's expectations of the student different? Did they even know what those expectations were? The panelists
discussed what they didn't know when they started but wish they would have known, what sorts of challenges or
successes they've had in their relationships with their mentors, and what they will model as they become mentors themselves.
October 11, 2006
"Authorship"
Dr. Jessica Barlow, School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Dr. Joseph Price, Department of Psychology
Third panelist TBA
The panelists spoke about ethical and practical issues involved with authorship, including working with student authors, working with multiple authors, and deciding the best format for publication and dissemination, and implications of those choices.
May 10, 2006
"Field Surveys and Touchy Topics"
James Lange, Coordinator of Alcohol and Drug Initiatives,
Student Health Services.
Within the field of behavioral risk prevention, one is often required to ask participants in research to describe risky, illegal or stigmatized behaviors. Sometimes even a chemical test for drugs is requested. While in clinical or laboratory settings such requests can be accompanied by detailed descriptions of information safeguards, field surveys offer greater challenges. Yet field surveys may be the only means of accurately gathering some behavioral information. This discussion focused on some of the challenges and solutions that have been employed in field surveys of alcohol use conducted by Dr. Lange over the past decade.
April 12, 2006
"Graduate Student Panel Presentations"
Steve Griffin, History; Lorah Brodie, Education; Matthew Schumacher, Anthropology; Matt Giacalone, Biology/Business;
Francis Guguni, Public Health
These graduate students spoke about their education and training experiences in research and ethical conduct,
and how they think about ethical issues in their disciplines.
March 8, 2006
"Know When to Stop: Research on Vulnerable Populations"
Sheldon Zhang, Professor, SDSU Sociology Department
Dr. Zhang shared his research experiences and lessons learned from working with vulnerable populations-parolees,
juvenile delinquents, drug dealers, drug addicts, and human smugglers.
February 8, 2006
"Research Ethics: Reality, Ideals, and Evidence"
Michael Kalichman, Director of the UCSD Research Ethics Program and Camille Nebeker, SDSU Director of Research Affairs, presented this session. This first seminar created a platform for discussing complex ethical dimensions of research that are inherent to science and discovery and introduce SDSU's interdisciplinary approach to teaching research ethics.