Kevin Elliot
Associate Professor in Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Philosophy Michigan State University
Media
Biography
His current projects can be divided roughly into the following areas:
– Investigating the roles of ethical and social values in environmental research
– Exploring how to respond to financial conflicts of interest in research
– Studying ethical issues surrounding science communication
– Investigating how to motivate public action to address environmental issues
– Exploring ethical issues surrounding emerging technologies
– Examining the process of scientific discovery, including “exploratory experimentation” as well as the nature and significance of scientific errors and anomalies
Industry Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Excellence Award in Interdisciplinary Scholarship from the MSU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi
2015
The MSU Chapter administers the Excellence Award in Interdisciplinary Scholarship (EAIS). This award recognizes excellence of a team effort, not performance of one individual, in teaching, research, service, or a combination of these activities. Nominations are sought annually from the Provost, the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, members of the Council of Deans, and chapter members.
Education
University of Notre Dame
PhD
Program in History and Philosophy of Science
2004
University of Notre Dame
MA
Program in History and Philosophy of Science
2002
Wheaton College
BS
Chemistry and Philosophy
1997
Affiliations
- University of South Carolina
- Louisiana State University
Links
News
Can Open and Honest Scientists Win Public Trust?
MSU Today online
2017-10-25
“It would seem like being more forthcoming would be a very responsible thing for scientists to do,” said Kevin Elliott, lead author of the study, who specializes in the ethics of science at MSU..."
Journal Articles
Values in environmental research: Citizens’ views of scientists who acknowledge values
PLoS ONEKevin C Elliott, Aaron M. McCright, Summer Allen, Thomas Dietz
2017
Scientists who perform environmental research on policy-relevant topics face challenges when communicating about how values may have influenced their research. This study examines how citizens view scientists who publicly acknowledge values. Specifically, we investigate whether it matters: if citizens share or oppose a scientist’s values, if a scientist’s conclusions seem contrary to or consistent with the scientist’s values, and if a scientist is assessing the state of the science or making a policy recommendation. We conducted two 3x2 factorial design online experiments. Experiment 1 featured a hypothetical scientist assessing the state of the science on the public-health effects of exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), and Experiment 2 featured a scientist making a policy recommendation on use of BPA. We manipulated whether or not the scientist expressed values and whether the scientist’s conclusion appeared contrary to or consistent with the scientist’s values, and we accounted for whether or not subjects’ values aligned with the scientist’s values. We analyzed our data with ordinary least squares (OLS) regression techniques. Our results provide at least preliminary evidence that acknowledging values may reduce the perceived credibility of scientists within the general public, but this effect differs depending on whether scientists and citizens share values, whether scientists draw conclusions that run contrary to their values, and whether scientists make policy recommendations.
