Bullying in scientific research
Maxine Clarke
Monday, 06 October 2008 07:34 UTC
Given the discussions we had before the Science Blogging 2008 conference about manners in the blogosphere, and disappointed that in a crammed programme we did not have time to discuss this issue, I thought Nature Network bloggers might be interested in blogging about or otherwise discussing this month’s EMBO Reports editorial, which I have posted about today at Nautilus. Here is my post:
Frank Gannon, in his October editorial for EMBO Reports (9, 937; 2008) identifies bullying as a pervasive problem in academic research, which scientists seem to accept “without further comment or disapproval as though it were a normal part of life.” From bullying of junior scientists (PhD students) or of peers, to defending accusations of dishonesty, Gannon provides a host of situations in which he believes this behaviour is rampant. He writes: “the reaction of some scientists when their grant application or submission is rejected can be downright disgraceful. If they know that they are dealing with more junior people, they will emphasize that they are the expert and that the decision should not rest with ‘some ignorant editor’ who is not a ‘real scientist’ anyway. They will ridicule the referees who critically analysed their work; they will persist, bully and coerce until they get beyond the initial rejection.”…
…“I might be exaggerating the extent and seriousness of bullying in academic science, but its existence is undeniable. Science certainly needs a degree of competition and is genuinely driven by the incentive to be the first to discover; we are a competitive species after all. Nonetheless, we should consider the damage we inflict on one another and on research itself if we tolerate bullying. Academic science needs all types of characters; not only the dominant and aggressive ones, but also the pensive and quiet workers. More importantly, scientific research flourishes best in an environment characterized by mutual respect, tolerance and support, and where bullying has no place.”
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Replies
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Speaking as one editor to another, I reckon we soon develop a thick skin. I’ve found that since I’ve started to use Joe Dunckley’s picture of me at SciBlog08
people are a lot nicer to me.
I expect that more bullying happens in labs, just as it goes on in schools, or anywhere else where people are shoved together in a competitive situation.
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I’ve never developed a thick enough skin. Or probably enough saintly restraint, though I do try.
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I am at work on something but until then…
coughs
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Who’s that – Richard G, Richard D (in the middle) and Henry?
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Maxine, I bet having a paper turned down by you would be a positively pleasant experience!
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“Alwight jusht shut yer mouff, Phil – innit,”
“Who’s gonna get a bottle naaw?” Hinted the rather gracious Grant Mitchell lookalike™
A
jar of Chutneyglass of Sherry anyone? And all happily lived on to enjoy a land free of indiscriminate politeness for yet another year. THE END. -
Cripes. I wish I’d kept my mouth shut.
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Bullying of younger staff (to do boring admin work, “cover” absence of senior staff etc.) is common within university departments. I am sure it reaches over into research too. I know of one celebrated older/younger feud between different universities in my field that led to attempted bullying but the younger had a skin like a rhino and a supportive boss.
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Here is the problem. We all hate bullying (I have been a victim of it severly and numerous times). I almost left science because of it.
However, it is woven into the fabric of scientific culture by virtue of the power higherarchies that we have put into place via the Academy.
It seems that you can not remove bullying unless you remove the competition for very, very limited resources(funding, publishing). Maybe open souce publishing would be a way to get rid of this. But the more you “democratize” science to remove the bullying, the more you bury the peer-review system that keeps quality high.
I have may thoughts about this, from my own experiences, but to politically protect myself (an institutionalized for of bullying), I have to top here.
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Despite the light-hearted tone of some of the comments above, I do think this is a serious issue as Michael, Brian and others are saying.
It is not, of course, limited to science. We read in our newspapers about bullying of all kinds in “uniform-based institutions”, financial and business companies, and so on. And it exists even in publishing ;-)
But the editorial does concern science and most people at Nature Network are scientists. I think leading by example is a slow and unglamorous suggestion but it is a step in the right direction.
Steffi is very flattering in her comment about rejection: she makes an important point that there are ways to do these things. There are ways to complain that your manuscript was unfairly rejected. There are ways to treat the less senior people in your lab. etc. Anyone who is in a position to “bully” could make a good start by thinking first about the consequences for the recipient, and whether the “potential bullyer” would like to hear those words or be in that situation.
Sorry if I sound too schoolmarmy here. In a long time observing scientists and working with colleagues, I have seen so much of this kind of thing going on in all quarters that I despair. (Of course, I do not think these groups bully more than others. But we can try to put our own houses in order.)
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