The Impact of NSF and NIH Websites on Researcher Ethics

Abstract

The fragmentation of science and medicine research in recent years has led to the creation of subdisciplines with distinct identities and ethics. Like many social communities, these subdisciplines have found websites of federal funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to be an effective and efficient home in which to solidify that identity and communicate those values. Despite the lack of collaborative, Web 2.0 technologies, the sites of NSF and NIH are able to communicate the ethics of the science communities they serve through rhetorical structures as diverse as graphics, page layout, and site structures. This article explores that role of NSF and NIH, including the rhetoric used, the ethics presented, and their broader implications.