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Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Research Cases

Case studies on research ethics for engineers
  • An intern at a power electronics startup faces unkind comments from a fellow engineer. She suspects that her colleague is prejudice toward female engineers.

  • A chemical engineering professor discovers that a colleague has taken credit for his research.

  • A bioengineering researcher discovers an error in protocol and feels pressured not to report it to her supervisor.

  • A graduate student suspects her research adviser has earned tenure under false pretenses.

  • A medical researcher is asked to trim data before presenting it to the scientific advisory board.

  • Environmental engineers face pressure to come up with data that favors their employers.

  • A genetic engineer feels a responsibility to educate colleagues on the truth behind stem cell research.

  • An African-American electronics design lead wonders whether his colleague's contentious behavior is motivated by racism.

  • A medical company asks blood sample suppliers to sign an ethically questionable consent form.

  • A researcher of regenerative medicine meets a man who is eager sign up for potentially dangerous human testing.

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