Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research: Perceptions and Practices of Postdoctoral Research Fellows Responding to a Survey

This article reports on the results of a survey of postdoctoral fellows asking about their perception of ethical matters related to biomedical research and publishing. Around eighteen percent responded that they ahd taken a course on research ethics and thirty-one percent had devoted some time research ethics. A substantial majority stated willingness to grant other investigators, except competitors, access to their data before publication and to share research materials. Respondents' opinions about contributions justifying authorship of research papers were mainly consistent but at variance with those of many biomedical journal editors.