APS News

June 2004 (Volume 13, Number 6)

APS Council Approves Statements on Subordinates and on Referencing

At its April meeting, Council continued its involvement with ethical issues. Two additional statements relating to ethics were passed, one on the treatment of subordinates, and one on proper referencing practices in journal articles. The statement on subordinates is posted on the APS web site. The statement on referencing appears there also as a supplement to Statement 02.2: Guidelines for Professional Conduct.

The texts of these two statements follow.

Statement on Treatment of Subordinates

Subordinates should be treated with respect and with concern for their well-being. Supervisors have the responsibility to facilitate the research, educational, and professional development of subordinates, to provide a safe, supportive working environment and fair compensation, and to promote the timely advance of graduate students and young researchers to the next stage of career development. In addition, supervisors should ensure that subordinates know how to appeal decisions without fear of retribution.

Contributions of subordinates should be properly acknowledged in publications, presentations, and performance appraisals. In particular, subordinates who have made significant contributions to the concept, design, execution, or interpretation of a research study should be afforded the opportunity of authorship of resulting publications, consistent with APS Guidelines for Professional Conduct.

Supervisors and/or other senior scientists should not be listed on papers of subordinates unless they have also contributed significantly to the concept, design, execution or interpretation of the research study.

Mentoring of students, postdoctoral researchers, and employees with respect to intellectual development, professional and ethical standards, and career guidance, is a core responsibility for supervisors. Periodic communication of constructive performance appraisals is essential.

These guidelines apply equally for subordinates in permanent positions and for those in temporary or visiting positions.

Statement on Referencing Guidelines

Authors have an obligation to their colleagues and the physics community to include a set of references that communicates the precedents, sources, and context of the reported work. Proper referencing gives credit to those whose research has informed or led to the work in question, helps to avoid duplication of effort, and increases the value of a paper by guiding the reader to related materials. It is the responsibility of authors to have surveyed prior work in the area and to include relevant references.

Proper and complete referencing is an essential part of any physics research publication. Deliberate omission of a pertinent author or reference is unethical and unacceptable.

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Editor: Alan Chodos
Associate Editor: Jennifer Ouellette

June 2004 (Volume 13, Number 6)

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Articles in this Issue
International Physics Community Joins Forces for 2005 World Conference in South Africa
Innovation Task Force Unveils New Advocacy Campaign
APS Council Approves Statements on Subordinates and on Referencing
APS Council Honors George Pake
Integral Looks at the Cosmos Through Gamma Glasses
QuarkNet Brings Research Experience to the Hight School Classroom
Laser Science, Quantum Optics Featured at 2004 CLEO/IQEC Conference
Senators Sign Letter Calling for More DOE Funding
Closing In on The Mysterious Dark Matter?
APS, AAPT Appoint Joint Task Force on Graduate Education
Two-Day Los Alamos Event to Honor Oppenheimer
Butterflies, Tornadoes, and Time Travel
Letters
The Back Page
Inside the Beltway: A Washington Analysis
Readers Bash Beltway Column
Members in the Media
This Month in Physics History
Zero Gravity: The Lighter Side of Science
Ask the Ethicist