Scientific Integrity

Forrest M. Mims III

Recently Shawn Carlson shared with me an exchange of correspondence that is must reading for everyone who does science, both professionally and as amateurs. As you read what follows, keep in mind that Shawn is the Executive Director of the Society for Amateur Scientists and the founder of its Labrats program. He also holds an earned doctorate in nuclear physics, and he is a McArthur Fellow.

"Dear Dr. Shawn," a young student wrote, " I seek help. I have a science project due, and I can't remember one thing for my logbook, because I started it about a month late. How am I supposed to remember anything so I can fake a logbook? I really don't know what to do. Please help me!"

Here is Shawn's reply:

Dear [name withheld],

It is absolutely never OK to fake data. The scientific process requires complete and total honesty. Faking data is fundamentally and profoundly dishonest and unethical. DON'T DO IT!

This crisis will reveal your true character. If you falter and fake your data, you may get away with your deceit this time. But you will pay a terrible cost in the long run. If you start down the easy path of lying your way out of trouble, you will end up living a very poor life. Eventually, you'll be shown to be a liar and no one will ever trust you after that. The consequences will be devastating to your life and to your psyche. And, you need to understand that our prisons are filled with people who felt that dishonesty was a better solution to life's problems than forthrightness.

You need to stand up now. You need to admit that you made a mistake and do the best you can with what you have. So what if you don't get a good grade on this project? You'll have learned from first-hand experience exactly why you should not procrastinate. And you'll have earned the self-respect that comes with facing the fire for your own mistakes. And if you act on what you've learned here and put it into practice in your life, then you'll be on your way to a truly great future.

So please don't ask me to help you cheat. Your future is too important, and I am not going to help your ruin it.

You need to search your soul and do the right thing.

Yours for great science,

Dr. Shawn

Were he alive today, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman would no doubt endorse Shawn's letter, for Feynman was deeply concerned about what has become a growing epidemic of bad science and even scientific fraud. Feynman discussed this in his famous 1974 commencement address at Caltech in a speech called "Cargo Cult Science." The key principles of this speech should be required reading at every university that teaches science. Non-science and science majors alike should understand the ethical points driven home so effectively by Feynman.

Likewise, Shawn's letter should also be required reading. If you are a student or have children in school, please take time to send Shawn's letter to every science teacher and professor you know. They are well aware of the problem. Provide them with Shawn's letter so they can pass it on to their students.

Virtually every issue of the leading science magazines includes news reports on the latest instances of scientific fraud. At another level are scientists who believe it is perfectly acceptable to exaggerate their findings to justify their research grants. Feynman discussed this in his speech. Then there are the scientists who believe they have a moral imperative to exaggerate their findings or their predicted outcomes to persuade the general public to accept their concerns. The obvious questions for these scientists is if they are willing to mislead the general public, how are we to know where they draw the line on integrity in their scientific publications?

Feynman covered this topic in his Caltech speech when he said, "I would like to add something that's not essential to the science, but something I kind of believe, which is that you should not fool the layman when you're talking as a scientist."

Like most members of the Society for Amateur Scientists, I am not a professional scientist. My only college degree is a rather harmless bachelors in government from Texas A&M. In short, I am one of those laymen about whom Feynman wrote. To paraphrase Feynman, I don’t want to be fooled by scientists. Do you?

On the other hand, I have published a fair number of papers in scientific journals (a list is given at www.forrestmims.org). Paraphrasing Feynman again, this means I shouldn't’t fool the readers of this column while writing as a scientist. Right?

You can find out more about Richard Feynman's stand on scientific integrity by reading his Caltech speech on cargo cult science. It's included in his memoir “Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!” You can find the book at www.amazon.com and many other dealers. You can find the speech on many web sites, including this one.

Meanwhile, what are your thoughts about Shawn's letter? How can we stem the growing trend of scientific fraud and misconduct? Please send your ideas to "Backscatter," and we'll try to publish them. Or go to the SAS Community Forum and contribute to the discussion there.