The nature and quality of engineering research

Engineering is the application oí science to design and development of products intended for useful social purposes. Engineering research consists of a wide variety of activities ranging from study of material properties for possible future application to the testing necessary to establish design parameters or to verify the adequacy of new design concepts. Professors of engineering are generally expected to conduct research, preferably in the “engineering sciences”; (e.g. thermodynamics, metallurgy), to publish their results, and find their own sources of funding. Many private corporations maintain departments of research and development, the findings of which are often proprietary and not subject to peer review. Managers of engineering research projects attempt to assure the quality of their results by “instrumental”; or “organizational”; methods. Instrumental methods assure accuracy in data collection and processing, while organization methods maintain a work environment conducive to creativity and integrity among researchers. Organizational conditions can affect research quality adversely, by giving rise to ethical problems associated with conflicts between corporate interests and those of individuals.