Transcript Teaching ethics to undergraduates (social sciences)

A Social Sciences
perspective on teaching
research ethics to
UG students
Peter A. Bath
Department of Information Studies
(with acknowledgements to Professors Peter Willett and
Val Gillet and Mr. Richard Hudson, RIS)
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Overview
• Providing the context
• Clear definitions
• Explaining the issues
• Attention to detail
• Examples and case studies
Examples of slides to illustrate
Focus on final year research projects
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Providing the context
• Background to national
developments
• UG students may not be
aware of Alder Hey etc.
• Other examples of
unethical research, e.g.,
MMR vaccine scare,
plagiarism
• Need to relate this to UoS
and research ethics policy
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Clear definitions
• Concepts may be
unfamiliar – avoiding
assumptions of prior
knowledge
• Engage students in
discussing issues and
questioning
• Include legal issues,
e.g., DPA (1998)
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Explaining pertinent issues
• Research ethics policy
• Relevance to, and
impact on, BSc
research projects
• Process for handling
ethics review
• Definitions of risk, and
examples of these
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Attention to detail
• Detailed discussion of
potential problems areas:
• Safety / well-being
• Informed consent
• Anonymity / confidentiality
Linking data sets
• Clear pointers to the
relevant resources, use
MOLE for module
materials
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Case studies and examples
• Small group work looking
at real examples
• Include range of examples
• More or less relevant to
illustrate issues:
• Patient groups
• Recording media
• Students as
participants
• Sensitive topics,
obesity, fertility
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Conclusions
• Teaching research ethics to
Undergraduate students:
• Discussing new concepts / issues
• Engaging students with the idea that research
ethics is a process
• Establishing the relevance to their work
• Providing clear examples and definitions