The Professionalization of Science: Analysis and Normative Implications

In the past two decades, the realization has grown that the phenomenon of scientific misconduct is not limited to a few ill-intentioned scientists – the proverbial ‘rotten apples’. It is now clear that there are also structural causes, and hence that scientific misconduct is intertwined with ‘questionable research practices’ and sloppy science.
In response, a lot of the policy changes have followed a textbook example of professionalization: there has been a big push for researchers to adhere to a code of conduct, and for there to be integrity boards to review alleged infractions of the code. Yet what does professionalization precisely mean? Is it right to impose a model of self-regulation on scientific research similar to that in medicine or law?
The academic literature on research integrity is currently disconnected from policy developments: it either focuses on cataloguing the states of affairs among scientists’ behaviors and opinions, or on constructing statistical models to predict scientists’ behaviors.
In this project we aim at understanding what precisely the process of professionalization is, and how it applies to scientific research. We will investigate the implications for current codes of conduct, and we will interview scientists to get a better sense of the situation on the ground. In this way we aim at making sense of the current direction of science policy.