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The Ethical Challenges of Socially Responsible Science
Open accessAbstract
Social responsibility is an essential part of the responsible conduct of research that presents difficult ethical questions for scientists. Recognizing one's social responsibilities as a scientist is an important first step toward exercising social responsibility, but it is only the beginning, since scientists may confront difficult value questions when deciding how to act responsibly. Ethical dilemmas related to socially responsible science fall into at least three basic categories: 1) dilemmas related to problem selection, 2) dilemmas related to publication and data sharing, and 3) dilemmas related to engaging society. In responding to these dilemmas, scientists must decide how to balance their social responsibilities against other professional commitments and how to avoid compromising their objectivity. In this article, we will examine the philosophical and ethical basis of social responsibility in science, discuss some of the ethical dilemmas related to exercising social responsibility, and make five recommendations to help scientists deal with these issues.
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“It is widely accepted that scientists have a moral duty to avoid causing harms to society and prevent wrongful outcomes and omissions that they are in a position to foresee”
From Science Communication and the Problematic Impact of Descriptive Norms (2023) · cites this paper as Resnik and Elliott [2016]
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“Even if AI-generated questions do not lead to dangerous research, they might lead us to (immorally) waste valuable financial, computational and material resources on projects with little social or economic benefits [109].”
From Autonomous artificial intelligence, scientific research, and human values (2026) · cites this paper as [109]
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Shamoo, A. E., & Resnik, D. B. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197547090.002.0005
Self-citationShamoo, A. E., & Resnik, D. B. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197547090.002.0003
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Polfuß, J. (2024) · Accountability in Research · doi:10.1080/08989621.2024.2393813
“Scientifically trained producers and distributors of knowledge can be imposed with more epistemic responsibility, based on their high level of knowledge – although epistemological expertise is not part of standardized training for all academic disciplines (cf. Resnik and Elliott 2016).”
Mnguni, L. E., & Gasa, V. (2024) · Contemporary trends and issues in science education · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-63382-9_15
Persiva, M. C. (2024) · Relectiones Revista interdisciplinar de filosofía y humanidades · doi:10.32466/eufv-rel.2024.11.858.15-32
“…de responder surge por el deber de no causar daño a los demás, evi-tando, pues, actividades que supongan riesgos potenciales injustificados; la obligación de brindar ayuda a quien la requiera, y el acto de agradecimiento por el apoyo recibido, fuere en educación o financiación (Resnik, 2015).”
The Possibilities of Libraries for Solving Problems of Scientific Ethics
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Toward structured dissensus: transdisciplinarity and plural futures in an unequal worldPreprint
van Zyl, I. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6661348
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Resnik, D. B., & Elliott, K. C.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Resnik, David B.
- Venue
- Accountability in Research
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2015-07-20
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 31-46
- ISSN
- 0898-9621 (ISSN-L)
- 1545-5815
- PMC
- PMC4631672
- OpenAlex
- W2124882912
- Cited by
- 131
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 6
- FWCI
- 10.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Accountability in Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- National Institutes of Health (Z99-ES999999)
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ZIAES102646)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Education, Technology, and Ethics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Research, Science, and Academia
- Social Sciences › Education › Academic integrity and plagiarism
- Keywords
- social responsibility of scientists, responsible conduct of research, research ethics, ethical dilemmas, problem selection, publication ethics, data sharing, citizen participation, objectivity, professional commitment
- MeSH terms
- Ethics, Professional, Humans, Morals, Politics, Science, Social Responsibility, Ethics, Research
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