AMS Code of Conduct

Approved by the AMS Council, 27 September 2019
 

Note: An interim set of procedures for handling violations of the Society’s various codes of ethics and codes of professional conduct is available here.  Revisions to the AMS Constitution to recognize the Code and extend the authorities of the governance body (Council) as needed to implement the procedures to enforce the Code will be pursued soon. This update to the Constitution will require full Membership vote and approval by two-thirds of those Members voting.

The credibility and, therefore, the effectiveness of AMS is dependent upon its Members’ adherence to the core values of inclusion, objectivity, honesty, openness, fairness, respect, and accountability in both relationships with colleagues and in the conduct of work.  The AMS maintains the highest ethical standards in scientific conduct, including intellectual honesty and integrity. The AMS herewith affirms that harassment in all its forms is as serious an offense as scientific misconduct and will not be tolerated.
 
This Code of Conduct applies to individual members and institutional members. Only individuals who intend to abide by this Code of Conduct should seek admission or continuing membership in the Society. This Code of Conduct is applicable in all professional settings including but not limited to office, classroom, laboratory, and field research sites; AMS events; social gatherings associated with professional activities; and travel to and from these events. This Code of Conduct is modeled after that published by the National Academy of Sciences1.

General Conduct

  1. Members shall carry out their activities with integrity and the highest ethical standards.
     
  2. Members must treat all individuals with respect. Members must refrain from all forms of discrimination2, harassment3, and bullying4 in their professional encounters.
     
  3.  In addition to their own professional conduct, Members who either witness or are made aware of discrimination, harassment, or bullying by others should actively seek to prevent, report, and/or otherwise mitigate the offensive behavior.
     
  4. Members shall not use or display the official seal of the American Meteorological Society, the Radio Seal of Approval, the Television Seal of Approval, or the designation of Certified Consulting Meteorologist or Certified Broadcast Meteorologist unless duly authorized by the Society.
     
  5. Members are expected to adhere to their employer’s code of conduct or ethics.

Research Conduct  

  1. Members shall not commit scientific misconduct, defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. Scientific error or incorrect interpretation of research data that may occur as part of the scientific process does not constitute scientific misconduct.
     
  2. Members shall disclose all relevant relationships, financial or otherwise, that might be perceived to unduly influence the outcome of their research.
     
  3. Members shall avoid all detrimental research practices that are clear violations of the fundamental tenets of research5. Members shall be fair and objective peer reviewers, maintaining confidentiality when requested;  promptly move to correct the literature when errors in their own work are detected; include all deserving authors in publications, and give appropriate credit to prior work in citations6.

Members recognize the responsibility of the Society to consider breaches of this Code of Conduct and to recommend appropriate responses. Allegations of violations by a Member should be addressed to the AMS Executive Director immediately and followed up in writing. If for any reason the Executive Director is viewed as having a conflict of interest that would raise questions regarding his or her ability to serve as an impartial arbiter, then the Secretary-Treasurer will receive the complaint.

1 http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/code-of-conduct/nas-code-of-conduct.pdf.

2 Discrimination is defined as prejudicial treatment of individuals or groups of people based on their race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

 3 Harassment includes any verbal or physical conduct directed at individuals or groups of people because of their race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. Sexual harassment is of particular concern and is marked by unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

4 Bullying is unwelcome, aggressive behavior involving the use of influence, threat, intimidation, or coercion to dominate others in the professional environment.

5 I National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “Fostering Integrity in Research,” pp 73-74, 81, National Academies Press, 2017.

6 II National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “Fostering Integrity in Research,” pp 70-90, National Academies Press, 2017.