This week I followed in the footsteps of a graduate student working on research in The Lab. What I found most interesting was the different paths and moral grey areas one could take. Sometimes the answer was not clear-cut, and if it had been my life, it would have been difficult to choose between achieving my future goals and reporting the problem. It would have been easier to simply not report the problem, and back out of the entire situation. Making the right choice in research, where there is alot of room for relativism is not always easy.
The Lab is definitely an eye-opening simulation! I thought I was making a sound, ethical decisions as a grad student by confronting the writer of the report on the falsehood of my data used his paper. However, The Lab quickly taught me that it is not wise to confront the one who possibly falsified the data as it gives them time to cover their unethical practices before they are discovered. I am striving to practice "Kantianism" and base all of my decisions within "The Lab" upon moral principles, however, as Brianna mentioned, there are so many gray areas! Though try as I may, It has been incredibly difficult for me to decipher what is truly right and wrong in this difficult and awkward situation.
I chose to follow both the grad student and the Post Doc in The Lab simulation. As the grad student, I made sure I followed through with the responsible decisions to report the misuse of my data. There were certainly some gray areas as Karlie and Brianna explained, but by following what I thought was the "right" thing to do I was able to navigate them pretty well. However, as the Post Doc I personally found it more difficult to determine what the "right" and "wrong" things to do were. In the Post Doc's position, you are given decisions about spending time with your pregnant wife and doing various extra tasks at work. I tried to keep an equal balance, but I wound up making a research mistake and my character was almost not published in a journal for it. I learned that you should always follow through with the necessary precautions for your work in a research situation, but where you can afford to take some time out for your sanity and your family well-being, you definitely should.
I've been following the post doc in the Lab. It's teaching me things about the science world that I didn't realize (like being very careful about who you talk to when you suspect falsification of data, as well as the importance of meticulous note-taking). However, I also have a problem with the tidiness of the simulation. I understand that, like a fable, it's teaching us some morals and how they can be valuable. But my problem is this: the right thing does not always get you the best outcome. Doing the right thing often times makes your life harder, not easier. For instance, when I chose that Hardik should spend more time at home and scrap some experiments, his career really doesn't suffer. But it would. I still stand by this decision, but I think it would have consequences. It bothers me that the Lab presents a world of perfect karma, where the good are rewarded and the bad punished.
I agree with JJ; doing the right thing certainly doesn't always make your life easier. I think the case of Kim, the graduate student working on her dissertation, exemplified this point quite well. While the choice to report her superior's fabricated data was, ethically speaking, the easiest to make, I liked how The Lab showed us that her life actually became harder because of her decision. Kim was ostracized by her colleagues and was eventually forced to change labs, forcing her to switch the focus of her dissertation and graduate a year later than expected. We see, however, that Kim still doesn't regret her decision; I can't necessarily say that I would feel the same way, especially because we don't get to find out what happens to Greg, the colleague who fabricated data to begin with.
The Lab simulation was very interesting to me. We already mentioned several times that many times there is no black and white, and decision-making can involved a lot of gray area. I also chose to use Kim and make decisions for her, choosing to do what I felt was the moral thing. Like already stated this resulted in her being ostracized and even transferring labs which pushed back the expected time frame to receive her Ph.D. This is definitely not the easy route by any means, but I have to agree with Kim that is was the right thing to do and while the impact on her may not be fair, she should not have regrets. She was a leader and did the responsible thing. I would hope I would have the courage to do the same thing if I was in her position. I love the quote "sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same" (not sure who the author is), and I think this is definitely the case for Kim.
the lab was an interesting little excessive to do. I found it interesting that occasionally, a seemingly "slacker's" choice would actually be recommended to you in retrospect (this is especially in reference to when you are given the choice, repeatedly, to scrap your work and go home).; the p.i. says he understands needing time at home but that you shouldn't scrap the material. What I found a little annoying about "The Lab" was that, more often than not, there seemed to be no middle ground. I would have liked the best choice to be available; Go home and ask a co-worker to cover you. I feel like I still would have learned the same principles while also learning other valuable principles like communication skills and helping one another.
I thought the lab was sort of interesting. It seemed, at least to me, to function more as a "what should I do; what procedures should I follow" sort of deal rather than as a moral dilemma. I think everyone agrees that fraudulent research is wrong, and people who become aware of such research should report it. The thing that stops people is a) fear of ostracization within their lab, and b) not knowing what to do when it actually happens. I wasn't confused by any of the moral dilemmas posed in the lab. It's not like anyone taking this class would be likely to think that we should let the sneaky annoying scientist guy get away with it. But it might come in handy, in the unlikely event I'm ever working in a lab, to have a concrete guide as to what to do. It might not make the consequences of my decision easier to bear, but at least I'll know what to do.
One thing I did find annoying in the lab was the way they kept asking if I was sure when I was playing as Kim Park. Like, I'd make a decision, the other person would tell me there would be consequences, and then it's ask me if I still wanted to do it. Hint: if I made the decision in the first place, I'm probably not going to change it to make my internet avatar feel better.
This week I followed in the footsteps of a graduate student working on research in The Lab. What I found most interesting was the different paths and moral grey areas one could take. Sometimes the answer was not clear-cut, and if it had been my life, it would have been difficult to choose between achieving my future goals and reporting the problem. It would have been easier to simply not report the problem, and back out of the entire situation. Making the right choice in research, where there is alot of room for relativism is not always easy.
ReplyDeleteThe Lab is definitely an eye-opening simulation! I thought I was making a sound, ethical decisions as a grad student by confronting the writer of the report on the falsehood of my data used his paper. However, The Lab quickly taught me that it is not wise to confront the one who possibly falsified the data as it gives them time to cover their unethical practices before they are discovered. I am striving to practice "Kantianism" and base all of my decisions within "The Lab" upon moral principles, however, as Brianna mentioned, there are so many gray areas! Though try as I may, It has been incredibly difficult for me to decipher what is truly right and wrong in this difficult and awkward situation.
ReplyDeleteI chose to follow both the grad student and the Post Doc in The Lab simulation. As the grad student, I made sure I followed through with the responsible decisions to report the misuse of my data. There were certainly some gray areas as Karlie and Brianna explained, but by following what I thought was the "right" thing to do I was able to navigate them pretty well. However, as the Post Doc I personally found it more difficult to determine what the "right" and "wrong" things to do were. In the Post Doc's position, you are given decisions about spending time with your pregnant wife and doing various extra tasks at work. I tried to keep an equal balance, but I wound up making a research mistake and my character was almost not published in a journal for it. I learned that you should always follow through with the necessary precautions for your work in a research situation, but where you can afford to take some time out for your sanity and your family well-being, you definitely should.
ReplyDeleteI've been following the post doc in the Lab. It's teaching me things about the science world that I didn't realize (like being very careful about who you talk to when you suspect falsification of data, as well as the importance of meticulous note-taking). However, I also have a problem with the tidiness of the simulation. I understand that, like a fable, it's teaching us some morals and how they can be valuable. But my problem is this: the right thing does not always get you the best outcome. Doing the right thing often times makes your life harder, not easier. For instance, when I chose that Hardik should spend more time at home and scrap some experiments, his career really doesn't suffer. But it would. I still stand by this decision, but I think it would have consequences. It bothers me that the Lab presents a world of perfect karma, where the good are rewarded and the bad punished.
ReplyDeleteI agree with JJ; doing the right thing certainly doesn't always make your life easier. I think the case of Kim, the graduate student working on her dissertation, exemplified this point quite well. While the choice to report her superior's fabricated data was, ethically speaking, the easiest to make, I liked how The Lab showed us that her life actually became harder because of her decision. Kim was ostracized by her colleagues and was eventually forced to change labs, forcing her to switch the focus of her dissertation and graduate a year later than expected. We see, however, that Kim still doesn't regret her decision; I can't necessarily say that I would feel the same way, especially because we don't get to find out what happens to Greg, the colleague who fabricated data to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThe Lab simulation was very interesting to me. We already mentioned several times that many times there is no black and white, and decision-making can involved a lot of gray area. I also chose to use Kim and make decisions for her, choosing to do what I felt was the moral thing. Like already stated this resulted in her being ostracized and even transferring labs which pushed back the expected time frame to receive her Ph.D. This is definitely not the easy route by any means, but I have to agree with Kim that is was the right thing to do and while the impact on her may not be fair, she should not have regrets. She was a leader and did the responsible thing. I would hope I would have the courage to do the same thing if I was in her position. I love the quote "sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same" (not sure who the author is), and I think this is definitely the case for Kim.
ReplyDeletethe lab was an interesting little excessive to do. I found it interesting that occasionally, a seemingly "slacker's" choice would actually be recommended to you in retrospect (this is especially in reference to when you are given the choice, repeatedly, to scrap your work and go home).; the p.i. says he understands needing time at home but that you shouldn't scrap the material. What I found a little annoying about "The Lab" was that, more often than not, there seemed to be no middle ground. I would have liked the best choice to be available; Go home and ask a co-worker to cover you. I feel like I still would have learned the same principles while also learning other valuable principles like communication skills and helping one another.
ReplyDeleteI thought the lab was sort of interesting. It seemed, at least to me, to function more as a "what should I do; what procedures should I follow" sort of deal rather than as a moral dilemma. I think everyone agrees that fraudulent research is wrong, and people who become aware of such research should report it. The thing that stops people is a) fear of ostracization within their lab, and b) not knowing what to do when it actually happens. I wasn't confused by any of the moral dilemmas posed in the lab. It's not like anyone taking this class would be likely to think that we should let the sneaky annoying scientist guy get away with it. But it might come in handy, in the unlikely event I'm ever working in a lab, to have a concrete guide as to what to do. It might not make the consequences of my decision easier to bear, but at least I'll know what to do.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I did find annoying in the lab was the way they kept asking if I was sure when I was playing as Kim Park. Like, I'd make a decision, the other person would tell me there would be consequences, and then it's ask me if I still wanted to do it. Hint: if I made the decision in the first place, I'm probably not going to change it to make my internet avatar feel better.