About the Blog

About the Privileged Logics Blog

This blog is about sharing resources, materials, reflections, and papers related to our work on Privileged Logics: Interrogating Foundations and Practices in Research Ethics.

Led by Western Michigan University's Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, this project promotes fairness and equity in science by expanding knowledge about the negative impacts of privilege in research and identifying effective strategies for mitigating them.

Privileged Logics aims to raise awareness about issues of privilege in research ethics, generate useful concepts for understanding them, and identify broadly applicable recommendations for addressing them that build on inclusive mentoring and other promising practices that already exist in research ethics.

About the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society

The Western Michigan University Center for the Study of Ethics in Society creates interdisciplinary opportunities for the University and Community to engage in public reflection about ethical issues.

Our Values:

Relevance – Explore practical ethical issues that are meaningful to society
Engagement – Commit to ethical inquiry and problem solving
Reflection – Make time and space for deliberating about ethics
Respect – Take seriously differing views about complex ethical issues
Critical Thinking – Weigh evidence and reasoning of ethical arguments
Collaboration – Work together with partners from the University and Community
Modeling – Demonstrate our values in the way we fulfill our mission

Learn more about the Center here.

Meet the Privileged Logics Investigators

Dr. Sandra L. Borden, Director of the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, professor in the School of Communication and an affiliate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western Michigan University.

Dr. Susan Stapleton, Advisory Board Member at the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, emeritus professor of Chemistry at Western Michigan University.

Dr. David Hartmann, Center Affiliate at the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at Western Michigan University.

Privileged Logics 2024 Conference: Highlights from a Research Ethics Workshop

At the Privileged Logics 2024 Conference, various participants shared what was being done at their institutions regarding research ethics. Training ranged from nothing and bare minimum CITI modules focused on compliance for those with federally funded grants, to monthly town halls and resources provided across campus. Some included weekly face-to-face trainings to supplement CITI required courses for all researchers, whether or not they are federally funded. The most comprehensive program resulted from disciplinary action by a federal granting agency. Examples of research ethics topics most directly related to privilege included sexual harassment and Indigenous student mentoring. But there was wide agreement that the orientation to understanding and addressing privilege was largely absent from most institutional training. A narrow focus on research integrity ignores the social benefits of research and equity and generally leads to rather superficial topics and a focus on com...

How Current Scientific Cultures and Metrics Reproduce Privilege

At the Privileged Logics 2024 conference, there was broad agreement that metrics currently used are unfair and reproduce privilege. Reasons include adherence to a competitive scientific culture, perceptions that these metrics are objective, their usefulness in appealing to outsiders for engagement and recruitment, and inertia and/or mistaken notions of rigor from those who have been at the institution for a long time and don’t want to change the way things are done. Examples of metrics that have affected outcomes for individuals due to privilege included: The demand for novelty and transformation (although there can also be an anti-innovation bias denying merit to delivery modes such as podcasts as well as to core expanding substantive areas and a focus on community impact) over replication and incremental gains Statistical significance as a measure for worthwhile research Tenure as a status attached to financial stability Grades as measures of learning and achievement Differential tre...

Introducing the Privileged Logics Blog

Welcome to the Privileged Logics Blog! Purpose of the Blog: Welcome to the Privileged Logics blog! Our blog serves as a platform for continued conversations surrounding privilege in STEM research and research ethics training . Our goal is to foster a community where researchers, educators, administrators, and stakeholders can come together to share resources, ideas, and insights on promoting equity and inclusion in STEM fields and in research ethics training. About Privileged Logics 2024: Privileged Logics 2024 was a one-day conference held on February 25, 2024, funded by the National Science Foundation (Award Number 2316197). The conference examined the foundations of privilege in STEM research and research ethics, explored promising practices, and inspired participants to redefine research quality, ethics, and opportunity in STEM fields. Privilege is a complex system of power that can manifest in various aspects of STEM research, from biases in peer review to dispa...

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