THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

NSPE Cases on Research Ethics

These are selected from the OEC collection of discussion cases based on original cases brought to the BER (Board of Ethical Review) of the NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers) for review. The OEC presents new versions more suitable for group and class discussion, deliberately open ended to encourage exchange regarding how one should respond to the situation. They vary in the extent of their resemblance to the corresponding NSPE case. Each rewritten case has a link to the original NSPE version.

Joint Authorship of a Paper

This case addresses issues of fair authorship credit in research practice.

Data Selection, Legitimate or Illegitimate?

A graduate student intentionally omits some of his research data.

Credit for Engineering Work in a Design Competition

An engineer fails to credit another engineer for design work when he enters a competition for bridge design.

Improper Credit Given for Research Data

This case raises the question of how best to remedy an honest mistake in crediting the proper source of research information.

Go to the full unit of Professional Ethics in Engineering Practice: Discussion Cases Based on NSPE BER Cases

National Academy of Engineering

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