Lethal Sampling Methods and Whale Research: An investigation of publication data and scientific values

• Main Author: Williams, Joe M.
• Other Authors: School of Information and Library Science, Sonnenwald, Diane H.
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2001
• Subjects: Publishers and publishing > Scientific and technical literature; Ethics Librarianship > International Aspects; Periodicals > Marine Sciences; Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.17615/ygyx-7b87; https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/wd3760949?file=thumbnail; https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/wd3760949

Since the early 1980's an international debate has developed concerning the feasibility, necessity and ethics of whaling practices. There are two opposing perspectives in this debate. The "anti-whaling" perspective, often attributed to the US and UK, suggests that all whale populations should be fully protected from killing for commercial and research purposes. The "pro-whaling" prospective, often attributed to Japan, Norway and Iceland, suggests that some whale populations are abundant and can be killed for commercial and research purposes. This study explores the relationships between these dominant perspectives in published research on whales to investigate how these values may impact scientific research. 1991-2001 publication data from five marine biology research journals were analyzed for their frequency and likelihood to publish lethal and non-lethal sampling methods in whale research. A major finding is that pro-whaling countries published significantly more studies that employed dead specimens, while anti-whaling countries published more studies that employed living specimens. These results suggest that scientists' cultural values influence the scientific process.