Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You consult with your student to reach a decision.
You feel that the decision should be up to the student -- it's his project
even though you are supervising the work. If you kill the project without
input, you know you'll feel guilty. Plus, you may even delay the student's
graduation because he would now have to pick a new project and start over.
This is the real-life decision that Nathan Webb would make. He is the research
director of the Bamfield Marine Sciences Center, where both students
and researchers conduct a wide variety of experiments.
"I'd consult with the student," he says. The decision would then depend
on the student's point of view -- he might decide he'd be happy doing something
else. Otherwise, he could look for other funding, suggests Webb.
"As a scientist, you don't want people telling you what to do," he adds.
"And as a scientist, you can't be biased."
Luckily, the research process is pretty open these days, says Webb. It's
quite rare to have a funding body interfere with research or its outcomes.
And if there is interference, a scientist can still get the results of the
research out to the public by publishing it in a journal.
"It's getting the money in the first place that's the problem," he says.
While government spends money on research, there are many people who want
it. Money is also available from private bodies and from industry, but these
bodies fund only those scientists who are doing research on subjects that
interest them.