American Association of Engineering Societies is an association of various engineering societies. It works to coordinate information and activities among these societies, and represents the interests of the engineering community to the government, to the general public, and to the media.

American Association of University Professors is concerned with academic freedom, tenure, and professional responsibility. Its codes and policies are compiled in what is known as the "Redbook."

To be accountable is to be answerable or required to answer for one’s actions. Sometimes the term “accountable” is used with a moral connotation (“normatively”) meaning morally required to answer for one’s actions without specifying to whom one is accountable. More often “accountable” is used descriptively to describe the sociological fact that a person or organization in question is required to answer to a particular party by some rules or organizational structure. For example, “the principal is accountable to the school board” gives a description of the social facts without suggesting anything about the ethical legitimacy of the organizational structure.

Confusion arises when “responsible” is used as a synonym for “accountable,” especially in discussions of official responsibilities. When “responsible” is used as a synonym for “accountable” the preposition “to” is also involved, as in “each staff employee is responsible/accountable to a supervisor” (see RESPONSIBILITY). Being a responsible person, that is, the sort of person who fulfills one’s moral responsibilities, is an ideal of character, a virtue. Being accountable is not a moral virtue but only a fact about one’s social or organizational situation. Although it is often argued that people are more likely to behave responsibly if they are held accountable for their actions, there is no necessary link between being responsible and being accountable.

Positive steps to enhance the diversity of some group, often to remedy the cumulative effect of subtle as well as gross expressions of prejudice. In science and engineering affirmative actions often aim to enhance the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in these fields.

Assent is a variation of the concept of Informed Consent specifically used in reference to research subjects such as children or other persons without the full competence to provide informed consent. For instance, because children under 18 are below the legal age of consent, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) requires additional protections when children are involved as subjects. Assent is defined as a child’s affirmative agreement to participate in research. Mere failure to object should not, absent affirmative agreement, be construed as assent" (45 CFR 46 Subpart D). In addition, the federal regulations require the permission of one or both parents or guardians of the child, depending on the nature of the research to be performed.

See RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION.

An inclination that influences judgment is a bias. The term may be used in a merely descriptive way to mean an inclination, but more often it is used indicate an inclination that influences judgment but ought not to. "Prejudice" is a synonym for bias in this pejorative sense.

However, the bias that cannot in principle be eliminated in the work of scientific investigators, in contrast to bias or prejudice that can and should be eliminated, is also an important topic in research ethics. For example, the way disciplinary training inclines people to interpret the results of an experiment in terms of the established categories of that discipline is a permanent feature of research, and one that must be taken into account in assessing responsible behavior in research. Of course, researchers may hold disciplinary biases and still be unbiased in other respects, that is, they may be impartial on the question of the truth or falsity of a particular research hypothesis.

A bribe is something given or offered to a person or organization in a position of trust to induce such a person to behave in a way inconsistent with that trust. As C.E. Harris (2000) points out, offering a bribe is not the same as capitulating to extortion (that is, capitulating to a demand under coercion or intimidation). It may be ethically justified to pay extortion in some circumstances, even though it would be wrong to offer a bribe. Bribes are paid to obtain something to which one does not have a right, such as a special advantage in awarding a contract. In contrast, extortion is paid to secure something to which one has a right, such as the return of expensive equipment one has legally brought into a country but which a corrupt customs official claims has been "lost".

A challenge study is one in which researchers intentionally give subject/patients pharmacological agents in order to induce and study psychiatric symptomatology.

Civil law is that body of law relating to contracts and suits, as contrasted with criminal law. Civil law covers suits of one party by another for such matters as breach of contract or negligence, and as such may have application in scientific and engineering contracts as well certain professional obligations. The standard of proof in civil cases is preponderance of evidence, a greater weight of evidence for than against. This is a weaker standard of proof than exists in criminal cases. Civil law, like all other forms of law, is subject to assessment and criticism in terms of ethics and justice. See also ADMINISTRATIVE LAW and CRIMINAL LAW.