Analysis of Jessica Banks Case - Essay Example

The four-part approach described by Bebeau to Jessica Banks's case, enables us to pursue the moral reasoning regarding the ownership and independence issues in scientific research from four angles. Bebeau has identified the first part as comprising of issues and points of conflict involved (27). Under this category, one has to explore Banks as well as Hayward's right to own the data collected and prepared by Banks under the mentorship and grant of Haywards in Hayward's lab (Bebeau 24). Here, legally, the ownership lies with the lab (Bebeau 24).

All the same, it has to be understood that Haywards has not said that Banks cannot have access to the data she had generated, and she can still try to get a copy with his consent if she approaches this issue more maturely. Secondly, it has to be discussed whether Bank has a right to continue with the research which she has been working on in Hayward's lab even after she quit that job and joined another institution (Bebeau 24). In that case, the contribution of the student and the mentor have to be assessed regarding the generation of the data before a decision is made (Bebeau 24). Also, the spirit of research has always been that of a collective effort (Bebeau 24). And also, a researcher needs to have the support of a mentor to pursue a successful career on a long-term basis (Bebeau 25-26).

Finally, in this part of solving the problem, Banks is faced with another conflict in which she has to decide whether she should fulfill her obligation to respect her mentor at the cost of losing her research data generated so far or whether she should refuse to obey her mentor and fulfill her perceived obligation to warn other students who can be in a similar situation (Bebeau 26). As far as this question is concerned, the basic premise has to be that the mentor should communicate to the students, the legal obligations regarding the research work and the student should also try to learn such matters at the beginning of the research itself (Bebeau 26).

In Bebeau's four-part approach, the second aspect of the problem lies in determining who the interested parties are and what their interests are. In this case, the interested parties are Banks, Hayward, his students, his university, Bank's new college, Hayward's funding agency, and the scientific community. Though the interests of each of these seem to be different and conflicting, when viewed from the angle of long-term benefit to the scientific community and all interested parties, a balance has to be found between independence and cooperation (Bebeau 26).

Bebeau has discussed the consequences as the third part of the problem (27). For Banks, the consequences include, “her relationship with Hayward,.her career, and .. her self-esteem” and for Haywards, his “reputation” (27). The fourth part of the problem as discussed by Bebeau has been the broader obligations of Banks, “to conduct herself with integrity. to treat Hayward and his decision with respect. to establish her independence as a researcher. to inform herself of data sharing policies and lab policies.to seek clarification of Hayward’s policies.to foster scientific collegiality and cooperation.(and in the end,).to empower students to pursue the issues of lab policies if her efforts are unsuccessful” (Bebeau 27-28). 

She should respect her mentor's decision and not insist to get ownership of the data. But all the same, she should try to convince him to share the data with her so that she can pursue her independence in research. In the meantime, she should also make a detailed study of the legal issues, moral codes of conduct, and intellectual property rights involved. Only after that should she press her case before her mentor. She should also ask herself honestly, what was her contribution to the research so far and what has been her mentors.

And she should also learn to view her research work as part of a collective effort that the scientific community has pursued through generations. With all these aspects in mind, if she still feels strongly about the ownership of the data, then only should she decide to fight aggressively to get a copy of the data. Even when she decides that she has to get the data, she should never photocopy it without the knowledge of Haywards, because that will amount to stealing and nothing else. With some patience and self-learning of the legal-moral issues involved, Banks still has a good chance to get access to her data.