Ethical Standards and Practices of Environmental Science Teams: Does Team Diversity Matter?

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

Today, most scientific research is done by scientists working together in teams, and many current social problems are so complicated that they require large, interdisciplinary teams of scientists. But, it is not always obvious who the best scientists are to include in a team and whether teams with certain types of scientists have different behaviors or practices than teams with other types of scientists. This project is studying whether teams with different team composition have different behaviors and practices. Some research shows that team composition (such as the gender, ethnicity, or discipline of the team members; also called team diversity) influences science outcomes such as effectiveness and productivity. But, there is little research that examines how team diversity affects scientists' ethical behavior, which is the focus of this study. The ethical behavior of scientists matters because it can determine the quality of the science that gets done, and it can influence the trust that society places in scientists. To answer this question, the awardee will measure team diversity and determine how it affects ethical behaviors related to materials sharing, authorship, and mentoring. It is expected that scientists who work in more diverse teams (e.g., those that include women, members of racial or ethnic minority groups, or individuals from different disciplinary backgrounds) may promote team cultures that include social sensitivity and ideals of community welfare. Therefore, higher team diversity may advance science's effectiveness by promoting more ethical standards and practices. This project will conduct both qualitative and quantitative surveys of individuals who are part of teams in three NSF programs that fund highly collaborative research: Dimensions of Biodiversity, Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems, and Macrosystems Biology. The project will first perform qualitative interviews on a subset of individuals working in teams funded by these three NSF programs to develop more precise hypotheses about the relationships between team diversity and ethical behaviors. Then, those hypotheses will be tested using a quantitative survey administered to the remainder of the funded teams. The quantitative survey responses will be analyzed using multilevel mediation modeling that accounts for the nested nature of the data (i.e., individuals nested within teams) and that can determine relationships between team diversity and ethical behaviors as well as the factors mediating those relationships. In addition to sharing study results, the project team will develop and facilitate workshops to help interdisciplinary environmental scientists recognize the effects of diversity on ethical standards and practices and facilitate increased diversity within teams.