Step 1: Identify the antecedent (the noun the relative clause modifies). The antecedent is 'scientist' — a person. Step 2: Determine the relationship. The blank links 'scientist' to 'research' in a possessive way: the scientist's research. A possessive relative pronoun is needed. Step 3: Select the correct pronoun. Whose = possessive relative pronoun for people (and sometimes things). It replaces 'the scientist's' inside the clause. Step 4: Verify. 'The scientist whose research was published' — whose correctly shows that the research belongs to the scientist. Answer: whose.