High school and undergraduate research students were surveyed over the 10-week period of their summer research programs to investigate their understanding of key concepts in science ethics and whether their understanding changed over the course of their summer research experiences. Most of the students appeared to understand the issues relevant to data handling and laboratory safety early in their summer research experiences but did not understand confidentiality, intellectual property, and authorship. Many appeared to have clarified their understanding within 2 weeks of the workshop and to understand confidentiality by the 8th week following the workshop. However, understanding of intellectual property and authorship remained unresolved for a significant number of high school and undergraduate students at the 8th week. This was true even though the majority of students reported having consulted their research advisor or graduate mentor for clarification on laboratory policies related to these science ethics issues. Therefore a single-shot approach to science ethics training favored by many summer research programs may not be adequate.