Hatcher, T. (2011). Becoming an Ethical Scholarly Writer. Journal of Scholarly Writing, 142-159. doi: 10.3138/jsp.42.2.142
Hatcher changed my view of writing ethics. Whereas I earlier embraced the notion of a
codified list of ‘dos and don’ts,’ I came to appreciate the evolving differences
and diversity of opinions on what is and is not acceptable behavior in
writing. An ethical guideline may keep
those that are ethical in-line, but it is a means for the unethical to find
rules to circumnavigate the written rules.
The self-regulatory approach, as he calls it, does have merit because it
is self-policing and kept current by a population of peers.
A few interesting points he surfaces—
- There is a dearth of writing on ethical behavior in
research today
- Existing ethical codes are too western and too masculine;
They are biased
- Key ethical dilemmas include plagiarism, confidentiality,
and trust and conflicts of interest
The key is that individuals create their own moral identity,
influenced by their peers, and kept current by the evolution and changes in
their environment. Ethics, therefore, is
dynamic and varied, not static.
