ACS Ethics and Professional Conduct in Chemistry 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Authorship on an ACS journal paper should be based on which criterion according to ACS guidelines?
- Seniority or academic rank within the research group
- Financial contribution to the funding of the research
- Substantial intellectual contribution to conception, design, execution, or interpretation (Correct answer)
- Amount of laboratory bench time logged during the project
Correct answer: Substantial intellectual contribution to conception, design, execution, or interpretation
ACS authorship guidelines specify that authorship must be based on substantive intellectual contribution to the research, not hierarchical position or funding.
Question 2: A chemist working in industry develops a synthesis route during employment. Who typically owns the intellectual property under standard US employment agreements?
- The chemist, because they performed the work
- The employer, because the work was done within the scope of employment (Correct answer)
- The ACS, because it serves as the professional arbitrator of IP disputes
- The federal government, if any federal grant funding was involved in training
Correct answer: The employer, because the work was done within the scope of employment
Under standard US employment law and most industrial contracts, inventions created within the scope of employment are owned by the employer, not the individual chemist.
Question 3: Which statement about the treatment of human subjects in chemical research aligns with ACS ethical standards?
- Informed consent is only required when the research involves clinical trials
- Chemical exposure studies on humans require IRB approval and informed consent (Correct answer)
- Industrial hygiene data from employees may be used without consent if anonymized
- Human subject protections apply only to medical, not chemical, research
Correct answer: Chemical exposure studies on humans require IRB approval and informed consent
ACS ethical standards require that research involving human subjects, including chemical exposure studies, must receive IRB approval and obtain informed consent from participants.
Question 4: What does the ACS principle of 'responsible use of chemicals' require of professional chemists regarding hazardous substances?
- Use the most potent reagents available to maximize reaction efficiency
- Minimize use of hazardous chemicals and dispose of waste according to regulations (Correct answer)
- Transfer hazardous waste management responsibility entirely to safety officers
- Prioritize cost reduction over hazard minimization when selecting reagents
Correct answer: Minimize use of hazardous chemicals and dispose of waste according to regulations
ACS ethical principles call for chemists to minimize the use of hazardous substances and ensure proper disposal, reflecting both environmental and personal safety responsibilities.
Question 5: When a chemist is asked to provide expert testimony in a legal case, ACS ethical guidelines require them to:
- Advocate strongly for the party that hired them as an expert witness
- Provide objective, scientifically accurate testimony regardless of who retained them (Correct answer)
- Limit testimony to data that supports the hiring attorney's position
- Decline all expert witness roles to avoid conflicts of interest
Correct answer: Provide objective, scientifically accurate testimony regardless of who retained them
ACS guidelines require expert witnesses to provide objective, scientifically accurate testimony; their duty is to the truth of the science, not to the interests of the retaining party.
Question 6: A chemist is reviewing a grant proposal and recognizes it covers work similar to their own unpublished research. What is the ethical course of action?
- Complete the review and use the proposal to accelerate their own research
- Decline to review the proposal and notify the funding agency of the conflict (Correct answer)
- Review the proposal but recommend rejection to eliminate the competition
- Share the proposal details with their research group for perspective
Correct answer: Decline to review the proposal and notify the funding agency of the conflict
The ethical response is to decline the review and disclose the conflict to the funding agency, protecting confidentiality and preventing misuse of privileged information.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes 'gift authorship' as defined by ACS publication ethics?
- Recognizing a mentor's contribution by listing them as corresponding author
- Adding an individual's name to a paper solely due to their status or seniority, without real contribution (Correct answer)
- Crediting a collaborator who provided reagents but did not conduct experiments
- Including a statistician who analyzed the data as a co-author
Correct answer: Adding an individual's name to a paper solely due to their status or seniority, without real contribution
Gift authorship is the unethical practice of listing someone as an author based on status or relationships rather than actual intellectual contribution, which ACS explicitly prohibits.
ACS Ethics and Professional Conduct in Chemistry 2
Authorship on an ACS journal paper should be based on which criterion according to ACS guidelines?