1. Supporting a Collaborative, Open, and Inclusive Research Environment
12/14/2022
For the purposes of this policy, Roman Technical Working Group Participants consist of the Romanaffiliated scientists from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) at the California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and members of the scientific community who work together to develop, prepare for, and enhance the Roman mission. Participation in the Roman Technical Working Groups provides access to any individual technical working group. The Roman technical working group participants are a large group with members from diverse backgrounds, comprised of multiple sub-groups each of which may have different expectations. We strive for an inclusive and respectful environment for members independent of their background, age, and stage or path of career. Interactions of group members with students and postdoctoral researchers are particularly important. Advancing the development of junior members in a supportive environment is an important objective for the Roman Project.
Group participants should encourage participation by other members and must be supportive of their contributions. The purpose of this policy is to state a Code of Conduct that reinforces the shared responsibility we all have for the welfare of our group and community and the advancement of science. As articulated by the American Astronomical Society and the American Physical Society, “Science is best advanced when there is mutual trust, based upon honest behavior, throughout the community.” Working groups and their participants strive to be exemplary in maintaining collegial, respectful interactions with the scientific community at large.
2. Respectful Treatment
All participants should actively encourage collaborative, open, and respectful interactions and must discourage disrespectful or hostile interactions. Sexual harassment is not tolerated, including inappropriate verbal and physical conduct, unwelcome advances, and requests for sexual favors. More broadly, the group does not tolerate verbal, non-verbal or physical harassment1 of any kind.
Disparagement and intimidation are not tolerated in the group. Participants must treat each other equally and with respect, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, national origin, physical disability, religion, age or any other attribute. Working group participants should be aware that behaviors and language acceptable to one person may not be to another.
Participants must make every effort to ensure that words and actions communicate respect for one another. If a working group participant steps over a boundary, the individual must be made aware (e.g. by a relevant working group lead) and take appropriate action (i.e., apologize and resolve to avoid the behavior in the future.) Group participants are expected to be collegial. When a disagreement arises, all participants must remain respectful of other individuals and be committed to constructively resolving the disagreement.
All participants should encourage the free expression and exchange of scientific and technical ideas. Debate is important and should be encouraged and disagreements will undoubtedly arise. While productive critical statements and feedback about issues are encouraged, personal attacks are not tolerated. Objections must be voiced in a respectful manner and resolved by collegial discussion. If participants are unsure how to appropriately resolve a conflict involving a fellow group participant, assistance should be sought out and used (see Implementation section).
The primary forums for scientific and technical discussions are at Roman joint technical working group meetings. Group Coordinators will, if necessary, remind members of this Code of Conduct in the course of discussions.
Roman technical working group participants also should make every effort to have respectful interactions with members of the larger scientific community, especially when representing Roman at professional conferences and workshops.
3. Scientific Misconduct
Participants in the groups must perform research in a well-documented and ethically sound manner. Falsification of data or results, plagiarism, taking credit for other’s work or any other scientific misconduct will not be tolerated. “Data and research results should be recorded and maintained in a form that allows review, analysis, and reproduction by others.”2 In addition, it is important that papers include “a set of references that communicates the precedents, sources, and the context of the reported work. Deliberate omission of a pertinent author or reference is unacceptable.”2 Potential conflicts of interest, e.g., related to competing teams, must be disclosed to the leads of the relevant working group.
Information, software, and results presented at internal Roman meetings such as joint technical working groups are not necessarily public and should not be used or communicated outside the Roman technical working groups or the Roman Project without the consent of the originator.
4. Promoting a Collaborative, Open and Inclusive Research Environment
Meetings:
When working groups gather in person or on-line for working group meetings, this Code of Conduct applies, although some aspects become more relevant. In particular, verbal discussions and communication must be conducted in a professional and thoughtful manner.
The joint technical working groups are responsible for supporting the Roman project and Science Centers in meeting Roman mission objectives. As such, the activities in the working groups and topics of discussion will be determined by the group coordinator. Participants are expected to support the activities of the working groups as determined by the group coordinators.
Publication Development, Review and Approval Processes:
The processes for publication development (including science data analysis), and internal reviews and approvals before submission to a journal, are determined by autonomous sub-groups within the Roman technical working groups. However, it is important to note that some papers will involve people from multiple groups and backgrounds who may have differing expectations on publication and authorship procedures. To avoid misunderstandings, group members are strongly encouraged to discuss paper development, authorship and review plans as early as possible with prospective authors. This Code of Conduct policy applies throughout the publication development process.
5. Implementation
All participants are expected to abide by the Code of Conduct as a condition of membership in the Roman technical working groups. Any group participant with a concern about a violation of the Code of Conduct that affects Roman related work should make the concern or complaint known to the appropriate group coordinator(s) and/or the Senior Project Scientist.
At all times, the objective should be to restore an inclusive, collegial, and respectful environment for group members. Retaliation for raising a concern, making a complaint, or assisting in resolving a concern or complaint, is a violation of this Code. In cases where a situation arises and an inclusive, collegial, and respectful environment cannot be restored, or scientific misconduct has occurred, the Senior Project Scientist has the responsibility to support the group and have the discretion to act, with consequences ranging up to reassignment of responsibilities, removal from all Roman technical working groups and reporting to relevant institutions, particularly in cases of apparent violation of law.
In no circumstance does this Roman policy supplant laws, institutional policies, or contractual requirements to which group members are subject. In any case, formal sanction or censure by one’s institution or professional society is a serious matter and will be considered as such.
1 The terms “harassment” and “bullying” both refer to objectionable behavior or actions. The following documents are useful references that discuss different semantics and different streams of thought that have developed to describe the possible variations and combinations of inappropriate and unsafe behavior in the workplace:
- Glossary of Workplace Bullying Terms, http://www.bullyfreebc.ca/1GlossaryofWorkplaceBullyingTerms
- Respectful Workplace: Glossary of Terms, http://www.theintegritygroup.ca/glossary.html
2see American Astronomical Society Ethics Statement at https://aas.org/about/policies/aas-ethics-statement
