I consur with others who have said this act of forgery cannot be
ignored. I don't know what your internal procedures are so it's
difficult to recommend specific actions. It seems to me that it's a hard
to make an ethical argument that some forgry is ok.
I would like to add another question to the discussion. If this act of
forgery were to be passed off as not being important enough toworry
about, then I think we have to ask what added value is there in having
the Department Chair sign the protocols. Personally, I think there is
significant value added, but others may disagree. For those who think
there is value in a Chair signing, this act of forgery has both ethical
and practical implications. The Chair has a right to know that his/her
signature has been forged --- and he/she has a responsibility to take
disciplinary action against the forger. I'm not sure Spanky's solution
of decapitation is a punishment that fits the crime -- but if the Chair
is aching to use a guillotine, so be it.
Stephen Erickson, Director
Office for Research Compliance and Intellectual Property Management
Boston College, LCOB 550
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Telephone: 617-552-3345
Office Fax: 617-552-6981
Fax to my computer: 413-895-8328
-----Original Message-----
From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG] On
Behalf Of Barbara Gray
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 11:31 AM
To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG
Subject: [RESADM-L] Forged Signature on IRB Application
Compliance/IRB staffers out there, how would you deal with this
situation?
We require department chairs to sign off on human subject applications.
A faculty member is in a rush to have an human subject protocol approved
(under expedited criteria) for a very innocuous procedure--virtually no
risk at all except it is a phyical measurement that does not fit within
exemption criteria. (Note that the project involves students who will
be collecting the data as part of a class assignment.) She indicates
she'll just sign for her chair, we indicate that she can't do that, and,
lo and behold, the signature page comes in a couple of days later with
the chair's signature forged.
Would you take this to her chair? Her dean? The provost? Would you
prohibit her from implementing the protocol (which will impact the
students in her class)? Would you bar her from doing human subject
research for a period of time? Is this "misconduct" that should be
referred for handling through ORI regs? (note that we've made our
misconduct policy applicable to all research and scholarship, not just
that funded externally or by the Feds.) Personally, I find the faculty
member's action offensive and unethical (if not downright illegal)--if
she will do this on an application, might she do the same someday on a
consent form?? But, in the big scheme of things, is this worth going to
the mat on? After all, it's only falsification of an internal
signature, not scientific data....
Thanks.
-- ==================================================================
Barbara H. Gray, Director
Office of Research & Grants Administration
College of Charleston
66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424
Campus Location: 407-G Bell Bldg.
Office: 843.953.5673 Desk: 843.953.5885 Fax: 843.953.6577
e-mail: xxxxxx@cofc.edu URL: http://www.orga.cofc.edu/
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