the obligation to keep some types of information confidential or secret. In science, confidential information typically includes: private data pertaining to human subjects, papers or research proposals submitted for peer review, personnel records, proceedings from misconduct inquiries or investigations, and proprietary data. See also Privacy.

a situation in which a person has a financial, personal, political or other interest which is likely to bias his or her judgment or decision-making concerning the performance of his or her ethical or legal obligations or duties.

a situation in which a person has a financial, personal, political or other interest that is not likely to bias his or her judgment or decision-making concerning the performance of his or her ethical or legal obligation or duties but which may appear to an outside observer to bias his or her judgement or decision-making.

a situation in which an institution (such as a university) has financial, political, or other interests which are likely to bias institutional decision-making concerning the performance of institutional ethical or legal duties.

strategies for minimizing the adverse impacts of a conflict of interest, such as disclosure, oversight, or recusal/prohibition.

See Informed consent.

an approach to ethics, such as utilitarianism, which emphasizes maximizing good over bad consequences resulting from actions or policies.

in human subjects research, subsequent review of a study after it has been approved by an IRB. Continuing review usually happens on an annual basis.

a right, granted by a government, which prohibits unauthorized copying, performance, or alteration of creative works. Copyright laws include a fair use exemption which allows limited, unauthorized uses for non-commercial purposes.

fixing a minor problem with a published paper. A minor problem is one that does not impact the reliability or integrity of the data or results. Journals publish correction notices and identify corrected papers in electronic databases to alert the scientific community to problems with the paper. See also Retraction.