851-0180-00L Research Ethics
| Semester | Autumn Semester 2023 |
| Lecturers | |
| Periodicity | yearly recurring course |
| Course | Does not take place this semester. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Comment | Particularly suitable for students of D-BIOL, D-CHAB, D-HEST |
Courses
| Number | Title | Hours | Lecturers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 851-0180-00 G | Research Ethics
 Does not take place this semester. One additional hour of home work per week will be required. | 2 hrs |
Catalogue data
| Abstract | Students are able to identify and critically evaluate moral arguments, to analyse and to solve moral dilemmas considering different normative perspectives and to create their own well-justified reasoning for taking decisions to the kind of ethical problems a scientist is likely to encounter during the different phases of biomedical research. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Participants of the course Research Ethics will • Develop an understanding of the role of certain moral concepts, principles and normative theories related to scientific research; • Improve their moral reasoning skills (such as identifying and evaluating reasons, conclusions, assumptions, analogies, concepts and principles), and their ability to use these skills in assessing other people’s arguments, making decisions and constructing their own reasoning to the kinds of ethical problems a scientist is likely to encounter; | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | I. Introduction to Moral Reasoning 1. Ethics - the basics 1.1 What ethics is not… 1.2 Recognising an ethical issue (awareness) 1.3 What is ethics? Personal, cultural and ethical values, principles and norms 1.4 Ethics: a classification 1.5 Research Ethics: what is it and why is it important? 2. Normative Ethics 2.1 What is normative ethics? 2.2 Types of normative theories – three different ways of thinking about ethics: Virtue theories, duty-based theories, consequentialist theories 2.3 The plurality of normative theories (moral pluralism); 2.4 Roles of normative theories in “Research Ethics” 3. Decision making: How to solve a moral dilemma 3.1 How (not) to approach ethical issues 3.2 What is a moral dilemma? Is there a correct method for answering moral questions? 3.3 Methods of making ethical decisions 3.4 Is there a "right" answer? II. Research Ethics - Internal responsibilities 1. Integrity in research and research misconduct 1.1 What is research integrity and why is it important? 1.2 What is research misconduct? 1.3 Questionable/Detrimental Research Practice (QRP/DRP) 1.4 What is the incidence of misconduct? 1.5 What are the factors that lead to misconduct? 1.6 Responding to research wrongdoing 1.7 The process of dealing with misconduct 1.8 Approaches to misconduct prevention and for promoting integrity in research 2. Data Management 2.1 Data collection and recordkeeping 2.2 Analysis and selection of data 2.3 The (mis)representation of data 2.4 ownership of data 2.5 Retention of data 2.6 Sharing of data (open research data) 2.7 The ethics of big data 3. Publication ethics / Responsible publishing 3.1 Background 3.2 Criteria for being an author 3.3 Ordering of authors 3.4 Publication practices III. Research Ethics – External responsibilities 1. Research involving human subjects 1.1 History of research with human subjects 1.2 Basic ethical principles – The Belmont Report 1.3 Requirements to make clinical research ethical 1.4 Social value and scientific validity 1.5 Selection of study participants – the concept of vulnerability 1.6 Favourable risk-benefit ratio 1.7 Independent review - Ethics Committees 1.8 Informed consent 1.9 Respect for potential and enrolled participants 2. Social responsibility 2.1 What is social responsibility? a) Social responsibility of the individual scientist b) Social responsibility of the scientific community as a whole; 2.2 Participation in public discussions: a) Debate & Dialogue b) Communicating risks & uncertainties c) Science and the media 2.3 Public advocacy (policy making) 3. Dual use research 3.1 Introduction to Dual use research 3.2 Case study – Censuring science? 3.3 Transmission studies for avian flu (H5N1) 3.4 Synthetic biology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Course material (handouts, case studies, exercises, surveys and papers) will be available during the lectures and on the course homepage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | What are the requirements? First and foremost your strong willingness to seriously achieve the main learning outcomes as indicated in the Course Catalogue (specific learning outcomes for each module will be provided at the beginning of the course). For successfully completing the course Research Ethics, the following commitment is absolutely necessary (but not sufficient) (observed success factors for many years!): 1. Your regular presence is absolutely required (so please no double, parallel enrollment for courses taking place at the identical time!) connected with your active participation during class, e.g. taking notes, contributing to discussions (in group as well as in plenary class), solving exercises. 2. Having the willingness and availability of the necessary time for regularly preparing the class (at least 1 hour per week, probably even more…). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Competencies |
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Performance assessment
| Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again) | |
Performance assessment as a semester course | |
| ECTS credits | 2 credits |
| Examiners | G. Achermann, P. Emch |
| Type | graded semester performance |
| Language of examination | English |
| Repetition | Repetition only possible after re-enrolling for the course unit. |
| Admission requirement | Your regular presence is absolutely required (so please no double, parallel enrollment for courses taking place at the identical time!) connected with your active participation during class, i.e. taking notes, contributing to discussions (in group as well as in plenary class), solving exercises. Further on, you need to have the willingness and availability of the necessary time for regularly preparing the class (at least 1 hour per week, probably even more). This includes e.g. the solving of exercises, the reading of ethics papers, and the preparation for the learning tasks during the semester. |
Learning materials
| No public learning materials available. | |
| Only public learning materials are listed. |
Groups
| No information on groups available. |
Restrictions
| General |  : Special students and auditors need a special permission from the lecturers |
| Places | 40 at the most |
| Beginning of registration period | Registration possible from 03.09.2023 |
| Waiting list | until 24.09.2023 |
| End of registration period | Registration only possible until 24.09.2023 |