Ethics in Science Communication and the Science Community’s Efforts in Monitoring Information

Ethics in Science Communication
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Ethics in Science Communication
Ethics are critical across all forms of communication. In science communication, the need for ethics is particularly pressing since many scholars believe that science has a credibility problem. As a result, ethics have become a contentious issue in science communication. The focus of this paper will be to discuss ethics in the context of science communication. As applied to science communication, the concepts of ethics will be defined and debated alongside examining the science community’s efforts in monitoring information.
Ethics often imply specific rules and standards governing character and behavior. According to Albertine (2018), ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, meaning ‘character’ when translated into English. In this case, the conduct and character of individuals in specific settings are guided by codes of ethics that clarify what is acceptable and unacceptable. Professions often have well-written codes of ethics that guide the behaviors and actions of the members. In science communication, it can be argued that ethical considerations are significantly overlooked despite the concerns being implicit in many current debates in the field. Several ethical questions are often raised in the area of science communication. Therefore, such scholars as Wilkinson (2018) believe it would be a critical step forward to reflect on the ethical considerations that influence the field. Since science communication can be described as an effort to provide information, such issues as credibility, accuracy, and integrity should be a priority when discussing ethical issues in science communication.
Ethics in science communication needs to address the critical concerns regarding the information. According to Ciubotariu and Bosch (2022), science has a credibility problem emanating from such underlying issues as the rigor of research methods, logical fallacies, irreproducibility of results, and potential statistical mistakes during data analysis. Other considerations include outright misconduct, sloppy literature output, and erroneous communication. The outcome of these issues is the loss of credibility in science communication. In this case, the ethical concern of credibility encompasses several ethical criteria used to determine what is considered ethical communication. For instance, the facts communicated must be current and accurate, and the result must be reproducible using similar methods and approaches. Scientific research that cannot be reciprocated can be regarded as incredible and, thus, unethical. Scientists also must act responsibly when handling scientific information. Ciubotariu and Bosch (2022) argue that responsibility among scientists can be examined from the deficit model perspective. This means that scientists need to communicate not only scientific jargon but also information usable by the public. As a result, reaching out to the public to determine the suitable mechanisms to communicate scientific data can be considered a critical ethical aspect of scientific communication.
The integrity of scientific information is another primary ethical concern. According to A...