Objectivity Obligation Invoked in BER 85-5 Research Report Context
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/176#Objectivity_Obligation_Invoked_in_BER_85-5_Research_Report_Context
Properties
Instance of
Applied to
Graduate research report compilation and data selection
Balancing with
Persuasive presentation of conclusions
Report clarity
Concrete expression
In BER Case 85-5, the Board held that an engineer performing graduate research acted unethically by omitting data that was at variance with the report's conclusions, even though the engineer was convinced of the soundness of those conclusions and believed the ambiguous data would distort the report's thrust — the objectivity obligation required inclusion and engagement with all compiled data
Confidence
0.92
Importance
high
Interpretation
Objectivity in technical reporting is not merely about avoiding self-serving bias in favor of personal interest; it extends to resisting confirmation bias — the tendency to omit data that complicates one's preferred conclusions. The engineer's subjective conviction in the correctness of the conclusions does not satisfy the objectivity standard.
Invoked by
BER Case 85-5 Graduate Research Engineer
Tension resolution
The Board resolved the tension in favor of full data inclusion, holding that the real challenge of technical inquiry is to engage with difficult and contradictory findings, not to present only consistent results
Source Evidence
Source text
In BER Case 85-5, the Board said it was unethical for an engineer to fail to include certain unsubstantiative data in a report.
Text references
Convinced of the soundness of his report and concerned that inclusion of the ambiguous data would detract from and distort the essential thrust of the report, the engineer decided to omit reference to the ambiguous report
a few of the aspects of the data were at variance and not fully consistent with the conclusions contained in the engineer's report
the Board said it was unethical for an engineer to fail to include certain unsubstantiative data in a report
the need for engineers to overcome bias, attempting to be objective and seeking resolution of issues through careful analysis and evaluation of the available information and data
TTL
@prefix case176: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/176#> .
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix prov: <http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
case176:Objectivity_Obligation_Invoked_in_BER_85-5_Research_Report_Context a proeth:Objectivity,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Objectivity Obligation Invoked in BER 85-5 Research Report Context" ;
proeth:appliedto "Graduate research report compilation and data selection" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Persuasive presentation of conclusions",
"Report clarity" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "In BER Case 85-5, the Board held that an engineer performing graduate research acted unethically by omitting data that was at variance with the report's conclusions, even though the engineer was convinced of the soundness of those conclusions and believed the ambiguous data would distort the report's thrust — the objectivity obligation required inclusion and engagement with all compiled data" ;
proeth:confidence "0.92" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "176" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-01T11:03:54.133055+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "176" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-01T11:03:54.133055+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "Objectivity in technical reporting is not merely about avoiding self-serving bias in favor of personal interest; it extends to resisting confirmation bias — the tendency to omit data that complicates one's preferred conclusions. The engineer's subjective conviction in the correctness of the conclusions does not satisfy the objectivity standard." ;
proeth:invokedby "BER Case 85-5 Graduate Research Engineer" ;
proeth:principleclass "Objectivity" ;
proeth:sourcetext "In BER Case 85-5, the Board said it was unethical for an engineer to fail to include certain unsubstantiative data in a report." ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The Board resolved the tension in favor of full data inclusion, holding that the real challenge of technical inquiry is to engage with difficult and contradictory findings, not to present only consistent results" ;
proeth:textreferences "Convinced of the soundness of his report and concerned that inclusion of the ambiguous data would detract from and distort the essential thrust of the report, the engineer decided to omit reference to the ambiguous report",
"a few of the aspects of the data were at variance and not fully consistent with the conclusions contained in the engineer's report",
"the Board said it was unethical for an engineer to fail to include certain unsubstantiative data in a report",
"the need for engineers to overcome bias, attempting to be objective and seeking resolution of issues through careful analysis and evaluation of the available information and data" ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 176 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-01T11:13:16.192686"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 176 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
176
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-01T11:03:54.133055+00:00
First case
176
Generated
2026-03-01T11:03:54.133055+00:00
Attributed to
Case 176 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-01T11:13:16.192686
Generated by
ProEthica Case 176 Extraction