Making Professional Decisions in Research: Measurement and Key Predictors

ABSTRACT

The professional decision-making in research (PDR) measure was administered to 400 National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded and industry-funded investigators, along with measures of cynicism, moral disengagement, compliance disengagement, impulsivity, work stressors, knowledge of responsible conduct of research (RCR), and socially desirable response tendencies. Negative associations were found for the PDR and measures of cynicism, moral disengagement, and compliance disengagement, while positive associations were found for the PDR and RCR knowledge and positive urgency, an impulsivity subscale. PDR scores were not related to socially desirable responding, or to measures of work stressors and the remaining impulsivity subscales. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, lower moral disengagement scores, higher RCR knowledge, and identifying the United States as one’s nation of origin emerged as key predictors of stronger performance on the PDR. The implications of these findings for understanding the measurement of decision-making in research and future directions for research and RCR education are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• decision-making
• measurement
• professionalism
• RCR education and instruction
• research ethics
• research integrity
• responsible conduct of research

Funding

This study was supported by the US Office of Research Integrity (6 ORIIR140007-02-01), and also in part by the National Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Science (2UL1 TR000448-06).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the US Office of Research Integrity (6 ORIIR140007-02-01), and also in part by the National Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Science (2UL1 TR000448-06).