Even though self-regulation seems like the most professional approach to ethical issues in research, Braxton and Bayer (1996) present Freidson's (1975) theory that says, in part, "professional self-regulation of individual performance is constrained by the rules of professional etiquette" (p. 200), which is to say that etiquette might outweigh some ethical considerations. Swazy, Anderson, and Lewis (1993) did a study of 99 graduate programs, including 2,000 doctoral candidates and 2,000 faculty from the same institutions. In the study 53% of students and 26% of faculty responding believed they would get in trouble for reporting misconduct, and although 99% of both groups believe in maintaining ethical standards, only 24% of graduate students and 27% of faculty believed that they act on those beliefs (p. 549). This study questions the effectiveness of self-regulation by illuminating the tension between professional ethics and professional etiquette.
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