Collaborative Research: The Responsible Conduct of Computational Modeling and Research

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Across all science and engineering disciplines, research is conducted in theoretical, experimental, and computational modes. In some disciplines, such as meteorology, the dominant mode of research is computational. Yet extant instructional materials for responsible conduct of research focus on ethical issues that arise in experimental research, and do not address specific issues that arise in computational modeling and research. In this project which encompasses a combination of research and education, the PIs will determine empirically the ethical issues and accepted standards for the responsible conduct of computational modeling and research, in a form suitable for teaching graduate students. Specifically, the PIs will articulate the standards for model integrity and validity, model robustness, representations and visualizations, data and code integrity, and intellectual property. They will develop instructional materials, case studies and associated commentaries to teach these standards to graduate students in science and engineering, will assess the quality and effectiveness of the instructional materials, and will disseminate them through conferences, journals, and the Web. The expertise of the project team includes computational dynamics, computational biomechanics, engineering ethics, instructional design, and educational assessment.Broader Impacts: In collaboration with both graduate and undergraduate students, the PIs will develop cases based on actual situations, and commentaries on the cases for teaching the professional standards of computational modeling to graduate students in science and engineering. These materials will be tested and assessed with students and instructors in two institutions, and with professionals at technical conferences. The materials will be disseminated through academic conferences and archived at the Online Ethics Center of the National Academy of Engineering. The standards will be proposed for inclusion in the publication guidelines of research journals.