Ethics and Professional Conduct
What to know
Ethics questions test judgment, not memorization. Know the core commitments: humane treatment, minimization of pain and distress, the three Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement), and honest reporting of data and methods. Understand the role of oversight bodies in reviewing protocols and the obligation to report concerns through proper channels.
Recognize conflicts of interest and how to manage them: disclose, recuse, or seek guidance. Understand that fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism are research misconduct, and that selective reporting of unfavorable results is also a breach. Confidentiality of personnel and animal health information matters.
Traps
- Choosing the answer that protects the institution over the one that protects animals or integrity.
- Assuming a supervisor's approval makes an unethical act acceptable.
- Forgetting that refinement applies to handling and housing, not just procedures.
- Overlooking the duty to report observed mistreatment.
Rule of thumb
When an answer choice trades animal welfare or honesty for convenience, it is usually wrong; choose the option that reports, discloses, and refines.
Worked example: A colleague asks you to omit animals that died unexpectedly from a study summary. The correct response is to refuse and ensure the deaths are recorded and reported to the reviewing body, since omitting them misrepresents the data and conceals a welfare issue.